Module Three Rhymes of History

The future does indeed have better toys!  A rhymes of history technology is current or new technology that brings to mind a technology from the past.  Rhymes of history technologies are pervasive in society.  Consider telecommunication.  Before electronic technology, runners and smoke signals were used to convey messages over a distance.  The pony express and telegraph then became ways to convey written messages.  The telephone changed communication technology though because it allowed you to talk in real time.  This is similar in some respects to Morse code.  Today, smartphones and VOIP products have changed telecommunication.  Many smart phones allow you to talk to multiple users (very similar to party lines of the past) and VOIP allows you to talk without a phone device.  Interestingly, the smart phone (and even basic cell phone) have begun to replace landline phones in most American homes.

Kelly’s TED talk concerned the next 5000 days of the internet.  As I listened to his talk, I was reminded that technically, we are halfway through the days in his prediction and he has been spot on.

Kelly’s TED:

In the talk, Kelly (2007) noted three activities or processes the web would go through in the next 5000 days: embodiment, restructuring, and co-dependency.  An example of embodiment, according to Kelly, is how the internet links computers.  In the TED talk, Kelly refers to the cloud as a future technology.  Today, this technology is very used. 

The second stage is restructuring.  The example Kelly gives here is linking pages.  While his example of the airline itinerary is accurate, I would argue that today’s technology is even great in this respect.  Consider iTunes.  You have your iTunes library.  Within that library, you can use the Genius application to find similar items you do not own. Then, you can also use Ping to share your library with others on your social network sites.  This example shows how you can restructure the old “mix tapes” into a smart thinking application that helps you choose music and books based on your past purchases.

The third stage according to Kelly is co-dependency.  In this stage, the ONE MACHINE Kelly talks about is always on and always close.  Smart phones have really made this possible.  Even without a computer or landline phone, you are in contact, anytime, anywhere.

Reference

Kelly, K. (2007, December). Kevin Kelly on the next 5,000 days of the Web [Speech]. Speech delivered at the EG 2007 Conference, Los Angeles. Retrieved from http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/kevin_kelly_on_the_next_5_000_days_of_the_web.html