Chris Depew

What are the technical AND economic transformations that are making the new emerging media practices possible? Be specific—not just internet, but how, what capacities, materials, etc. Think about other technologies, roads, satellites, phone, and alternative energy sources, 

            Without question, the single most technical transformation is the SmartPhone. Everyone has one, everyone needs one. The current world wide ratio of cell phones is 2 cell phones for every single land line. (Maxwell, 2009) Since the SmartPhone is needed to make and receive calls, people usually sleep with the phone by their bed, let alone carry it wherever they go. The economic transfer is in lowered cost of parts, mainly the chips that run the OS. Take a picture on your SmartPhone, click a button and there it is on Facebook for everyone to see. The same can be done with Twitter as well as other social media sites.

Alternative energy sources would be my number one economic transformation outside of the Internet. Solar and wind power have yet to be harvested in an economical and practical fashion. Yes, they exist, but they are very expensive to produce and put into operation. Additionally, their size alone would preclude most people from having them in their homes. This in a sorted way leads to both economical as well as material capacities. If renewable energy were to be able to advance in the scientific portion of production as the computer did, it would eliminate the need for fossil fuels, thereby destroying OPECs grip on the world, let alone the emissions leaving the environment. With the renewable energy sources would come the materials needed to create the devices. We have seen companies such as IBM, Intel and others make billions of dollars from chips as small as or smaller than the tip of a pen. If this could materialize whereas it was feasible to create these alternate energy sources at a cheaper price, an entire new market would open up.

New emerging media practices are not new concepts however. People meet on Match.com and eHarmony.com; they meet on Facebook and other sites. How is this different than meeting someone in a gym, a nightclub or even a supermarket? The concept is the same; however the venue has changed due to the immediate ability and anonymity that people have with the Internet. The downside to meeting someone on the Internet was depicted in a cartoon that I recently read; there was a picture of a young girl with the caption of “meet 12 year old Cindy.” Below it was a sleazy old man in a dirty t-shirt with a cigar in his mouth that read, “Meet Cindy’s Internet 12 year old girl friend.” Therefore, the concept has basically remained the same, the threats that the Internet bring sometimes outweigh the good.

Reference

Maxwell, B. (2009). COUNTRIES WITH THE HIGHEST RATIO OF CELL PHONES TO LAND LINE TELEPHONES. Retrieved April 2011, from Geography Lists: http://www.geographylists.com/list21n.html