The Grand Finale!!!!!

COM125 has certainly been the best module of this semester. It was a fun learning journey with lots of entertaining videos and generous break times with not so fun killer exams. Nonetheless, it was enjoyable and I definitely learnt a lot more about the Internet; a tool that I was pretty sure I was familiar with until this course.

Web 2.0 was eye-opening. I've been throught the era of the old Internet and went with the flow of the rising social media but I never noticed the evolving power of the Internet until Web 2.0 was brought up. When e-learning was mentioned, I thought about the various online modules that were offered in the previous semesters but I never once imagined Second Life to be an effective learning environment.

Most people would have participated in e-commerce one way or another, as did I, but it has never occured to me that if I were ever to be dedicated to setting up a business online, I could actually be a millionaire; or so I would dream. Which brings us to growth mindsets, where we should all be open to new ideas and always ready to learn. For instance, learning about the various 'hidden' magic of Google, the site that I have saved as my homepage but has probably utilized less than 20% of its full capacity. With Google and YouTube, I'm able to blog and upload videos that I have created.

Then comes the drawbacks of the Internet with its 1001 viruses and cybercrimes. Thank God, living in Singapore has protected us from cyber bullies but of course, like everything else, some may fall through the cracks. Cyberbullies may be everywhere, even when playing Massively Multiplayer Online Roleplaying Games; which is another marvellous addition to the many tools and services of the Internet. People across the globe may be connected and playing the same game together in real world time. Just like the connectedness in games, so too can multimedia marketing reach out to potential consumers in all corners of the world.

Politicians have also used the Internet in that way as their channel to reach out to the mass population. Whether it is to sustain support or to draw up their statuses, people make use of the Internet's global reach to send out any messages they need to. This in turn would be an utmost asset to journalism. Instead of being passive consumers of media, the people now have a voice and the Internet has brought about a platform for two-way interactivity as the media and its audience may now exchange views and feedback.

The evolution of technology has led to a vast change in our society and in our world. It has impacted our lives in more ways than one. Our lifestyle have been made more convenient with the Internet but being a double edged sword, problems have also surfaced. As I am typing this, new ideas about advancing the uses of the Internet are arising and the future of the Internet is left in the hands of almost anyone. Just like in my first post: Will the Internet be our friend or foe? You decide. =)

Future of the Internet

In the past, generations were divided into decades. Right now, each generation has been defined by a separation of 5 years. Digital age and advancing technology has brought about the decreasing number of years that marks a generation. Perhaps in the near future the distinction may be that of every two years.

TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) is an invitation-only event where the world's leading thinkers and doers gather to find inspiration. The following video is what they perceive to be the future of the Internet.



Reading a person's identity off their bodies, drawing a watch on your hand to draw a time or taking a picture and dialling a number with just your fingers and palms. As convenient as it may be, it infringes on a person's privacy, causes one to be lazy, and puts numerous companies, like phone, cameras and watches, out of business. This would result in a widescale job losses and a major impact on the world's economy. It would be crazy just to know a person's interests just by lookin at someone. Imagine walking along a street and a total stranger turns on his device just to check out your personal information. It's freaky, stalkerish and simply insane.

As much as the advance in technology is impressive and marvellous with all its advantages, I certainly wish that somehow it would stop progressing at this rate. Humans are experimenting with changes more than what most could handle. Those who are not tech-savvy may fall behind whilst those who do not even have any form of technology gadget would be left further behind in the technological divide. I am a supporter of Ipod and playstation consoles but I do not want a world where people can start using walls as a computer screen with everyone's identities unprotected and available for the world.