Where is Interactive Going?

This driving question inspires and creates thoughts for everybody working in the field, and one code that everyone wants to crack. But How? We become innovative people thinking about the next "Big Thing." Trying to beat everyone to the punch by thinking out an idea, or a part of an idea, to set themselves apart from the rest.

Take social collective buying as the largest example in this category. Two years ago your first thought at those words would've been.... uhmmmm..... huh? Now with Groupon leading the way and Living Social in a very distant second place this new idea has taken the world by storm. Andrew Mason cracked the code. He thought of something that no one else had and hit the ground running at the perfect time in our nation's history (yes, economics, which I won't get into).

So with this notion in mind, not only should our thoughts be with what is the next big thing, but an even larger question than this. Where exactly is interactive technology heading in general? Ten years ago people were buying computers like they were going out of style and not it seems like they slowly are. You can't look on a train, in a car, and see people pull out their large laptops for more information than they can humanly consume. Oh no, they simply reach into their pockets and reach for their phone to stay in touch with everything that is happening around them.

In this new day and age it seems that our adaptive times are now heading into what is slim, sexy, and easier to transport than our wallets or purses. Imagine taking a phone away from a 16 year old boy and seeing his reaction. He would be lost, he might even go out and play sports or enjoy the day. It's truly unbelievable to see and even comprehend the trends that happen when our culture evolves.

It may take a visionary mind, but it seems as if this change has been happening for a long time. We started with phones, then texting, and now this culture has exploded to any and every application by a company that feels they have something to show. Want to play a game? Take three seconds and download this new sweet game and it's yours Forever!

Of course I had to go to Angry Birds. It's hip now, even though I've beaten it and moved on with my life. So the question that remains is what is next. Will iPad's take over and become the next phone? Honestly, I have a hard time believing this. Sure it's new and Apple created it so it Has to be cool to have, but it's larger than a phone and I just don't see it taking over. The cell phone may just be it, something small and easy to carry along until we develop a technology to fold up a television and be able to bring it around. Yes, I know we have youtube and tv accessible on our phones, but I'm willing to bet someone figures out a way to create a device eventually that has a 32" screen that you can literally fold up and put in your pocket.

This might be completely unimaginable as I write this. Even to me it is. But think about it and let me know your thoughts. Who could've guessed twenty years ago we would have a phone in our pockets, and it happened.

Social Media Blog Post

Ok so this this first blog is a little nerve racking. I’ve never written a blog and honestly, I don’t know what to write about or why I am doing this. I’ve tried thinking about good topics the past few days and have researched anything you can think of. Do I write about the latest web technologies? Maybe I start with something “entertaining” like a movie to grab some attention?

So anyways, during all of this thinking it finally struck me, why not write about social media in general? Why do we use Facebook? What is the point of Tweeting our every move? Why am I sitting here writing a blog for you  this very second? I’m not Mark Twain, and never will be. However, thanks to the internet, we are allowed to share all of these thoughts, experiences, and opinions in ways that could never be done before. And that’s why social media is exploding like Apollo 13.

It’s popular, it’s now, it’s hip, and there is a bubble going on across the country that is unstoppable. We can show where we are eating on FourSquare. Does that mean we want to be stalked, or have somebody press a little thumb to let us know they agree with us eating there? Not really (although it’d be awesome if they did press that thumb, right). As the times change I’ve come to the conclusion that more of us just want to brag about what we’re doing. Yes, I am going to the Chicago Bulls game. Yes, I did just check in to Boston. Yes, I just tweeted that I’m at Lollapalooza!

Quick side note..... if you really are having a great time. I don’t understand why you would even care about grabbing your phone to type that. Go enjoy yourself like these so called boring parents in this commercial:

Is social media here to stay? Advertising agencies have created companies to focus on social media. Publishing companies have fired long term employees to hire a social media team. People are getting paid to do what they Actually did in college rather than what they Should’ve been doing! Good for them. I’m just not sure where social media is heading, like many others, and am curiously along for the ride.

Personally, I have this feeling that it may die out like anything else once we get sick of the advertisements large corporations paid to specifically find us. This process will not be overnight, it might take years, or maybe I’m wrong and social media is here to stay. Totally plausible... but in the past fifty years (arguably ten actually) we have always found a way to avoid these annoying ads. Want to see this ad? Nope, pop up blocker baby! Want to ride in this new Lexus you can’t afford? Absolutely not, press fast forward on the Tivo! I think that when we eventually hit this point people will just grow sick and tired.

With this being said, social media is not going away tomorrow. Heck, if I had THAT strong of a feeling it will die out I would not be sitting here writing this. Maybe I want to be Mark Twain afterall. I also wouldn’t have made a website that had a section completely dedicated to the socializers of the world. So, until then, I am going to keep on tweeting, writing blogs, and I invite you along for the ride. Go ahead and like me, tweet me, message me, or.... some other way of communicating that I’m just not thinking of and we’ll communicate again very soon.