The future is about communication, but communications
has always been the future!
No one would argue that the Internet has forever changed
our lives. We are still inventing new ways to communicate over
the Internet, ways that will continue to change how we live and
do business.
If there is one thing we can count on in the future it is the
need and desire for humans to communicate and share information.
Throughout history we have seen countless examples
of how far people will go to record and communicate thoughts,
ideas, and useful information. One of the most obvious desires
of mankind has been to communicate with as much detail, efficiency,
and emotion as possible.
Cave painting imagery could tell an entire story regardless
of the viewer’s spoken language. Text-based books have been
instrumental in the transfer and preservation of knowledge and
understanding across cultures and continents. Music has
evolved from simple human-created rhythms to complex electronic
works that communicate emotions and set moods in
ways that words and pictures cannot quite express.
Comparing the communication needs of our prehistoric
cave-dwelling relatives to the needs of modern-day humans in
skyscrapers and condos we see that some of the basics are
unchanged. In terms of human communications, face-to-face
interaction has not always been convenient or practical: The
need to transfer thoughts and ideas in absentia continues to
this day.
When the average consumer thinks about how they used
the telephone 10 years ago and how they use wired and wireless
phones today it’s apparent that not much has changed. A
closer look reveals something more—the ability to call anyone
from anywhere at a reasonable cost has had an impact on the
way society uses and reacts to technology as a whole.
As technology barrels along it often seems as if the impact is
one way—that technology changes the lives of those who use it.
That society is defenseless to fend off the impact of innovations
that seemingly to reach into every corner of our lives. It’s more
accurate to think of it as a two-way street—people and culture
do influence the future of technology albeit at differing speeds.
It’s most apparent when traveling in different countries.
Some cultures are very work-oriented, some value leisure and
play more than material goods. The differences among cultures
create the environment for technology to add value or not.
How useful do you think a voicemail system or the ability to
check stock quotes would be on a small island where the primary
source of sustenance is fishing? The culture of societies
around the world will always evolve and adapt to the opportunities
before them, including technical opportunities. This is
not to say that technology will never get out of hand or even
cause great harm—history is full of examples of disasters
caused by technical missteps. But as surely as technology may
wreak havoc and destruction, cultures will bend the direction
of future technology to adjust the path of evolution in hopes of
more favorable results. 197