Email and Beyond

1994. That's a little over ten years ago. The web was barely anything in those days. Free email was fairly uncommon. I used to find it peculiarly funny to overhear others talking about email, because it seemed like something academics and geeks used. But it didn't take long before email has become so ubiquitous that no one bats an eye at it.

Email and IM away messages have become a peculiar way to advertise something to friends. For example, consider this
site. If it persists that is. I found this off someone's away message or their personal info from their IM. It's a video of Christmas lights synchronized to music. Whether it's real or not is up to debate, but it seems plausible that someone could do it.

A while back, I saw something called Ping Pong Matrix, which had two guys "playing" ping pong. In fact, the ball was held on a stick and made to move as if the players were hitting it. The two players were lifted and moved around by people dressed in black and it created a funny effect. This video has made the rounds, as has one by Sony where four robots to a robot dance (Sony's robots, I guess).

In the past, such oddities would hardly be seen. Maybe you'd read about it in a newspaper, but these days, you can just get on the web and see it. It's really become an amazing way to transmit information, even if it's usefulness is rather dubious.

I've also noticed that, although technology moves quickly, not everyone is ready to keep up. OK, so there's email, there's web-browing. Lots of people buy stuff online. But how many people are still running Windows 98? How many people are perfectly happy with dial-in. How many people don't want or need wireless access?
Clearly, the issue is money and interest.

My parents barely use the web. I know people who would sit hours in front of a computer for fun. They watch movies, read comics, read newspapers, whatever. But if you've never done this, why do it now?

I can't say I'm up on everything. I should be listening to podcasts. Maybe I should podcast myself. I told my dad recently what podcasting is. I want to know how RSS does what it does. At the very least, I've heard of these terms.

The kinds of technology that seem to work best are those that people absolutely can't do without. So far, that's cell phones, email, and the browser (maybe video games, if you want to include that). It's difficult to make people embrace technology they don't think they need, especially if it means learning something new.

PDAs, for example, are still relatively uncommon. I only know a small percentage that use it. You're more likely to find someone with an IPod than a PDA, even if th e prices are somewhat similar. Music resonates far more than a reminder service.

What does the crystal ball fortend? Who knows? We'll watch it unfold in the next few years, and see.