Digital Distraction

What’s the hottest digital service around?
Which new technology is going to change the playing field?
What are the nuances of Web 2.0- when will Web 2.1, 2.2…3.0 emerge?

Arguably, we’re obsessed with a self-perpetuated speculative practice; a practice which sees technology as the driver of change. Businesses, journalists and entrepreneurial individuals are fighting to keep their heads above the sand as our media industries are bombarded by continuous iterative improvements to technology, and the emergence of ever more creative services.

This is all very well, but where do we draw the line? Is there a point when this tech-speculation becomes a distraction to effectively conducting business as usual? Change never ceases, fair enough. But when one adopts a stance of humanism i.e. one acknowledges that human agency plays a significant role in determining whether a service/platform/technology is commercially viable, technological neurosis can be replaced with a balanced approach- one which appreciates progress, but views such progress from a perspective that acknowledges that users- people- and their practices, don’t change as radically.

I recently completed an critique based on this subject- a respectable blogger proposed the emergence of a ‘new’ kind of web, based on the proliferation of wi-fi networks and smart devices. If you are interested in broadening your perspective on such issues, then please have a gander!