Coming to Grips with New Technology

Over the course of the last few months, i've had a change of heart in regards to the role of new technology in our culture. About six months ago, I would barely bat an eye when someone mentioned twittering, crowdsourcing, or any other myriad of digital networking/connecting tools. While we're at it, we might as well throw gaming, crackberrying, and reality mining into the mix. But now, i'm rounding the corner to a new sense of appreciation for the way that new technologies can be used to promote the social good in our culture. By no means have I fully embraced the concept of living digitally, but what I have seen is the potential that lies within digital tools. People in Haiti twittering their way to safety, friends building their portfolios via Flickr, gaming devices being used to teach marginalized kids. There is real possibility in such tools, there is also real danger in them as well.

But, while we can throw on sackcloth and bark a doomsday chant in revolt, it does little good to change the status quo. The reality is, the world is increasingly dependent upon social media for its everyday activities and the spread of such technology is global. Sure, there are limitations to what social media can do, but what if we stopped crying about the bad and starting working to unlock the good of these technologies? For instance, what if the term "augmented reality" was seen less for its scary Big Brother potential and more for its ability to provide incredibly interactive interfaces that blend digital and physical in a seamless way? What if "gaming" became less about sitting behind a screen detached from the world and more about kids building social skills and business skills in a real-world setting with digital cues? These things are possible, they just involve a different perspective and transformed tools.

Let's start a conversation about this, and let's start with the next big thing in new technology, FourSquare:


Several museums are now using FourSquare as an innovative way to get young adults into their doors and interacting more readily with their exhibits. I'm not quite ready to download this app just yet, but i'm curious to know what others think about it and the questions that such an application raises regarding the future of technology. From there, we can broaden the discussion to some other technologies and the future of social media.