Social media has gone through its own share of growing pains. This new technology used as a method of communicating, has evolved at a dizzying pace. The first major change will be the increased use and functionality of smartphones. Apple, with the emergence of the iPhone 4s allows owners to use their phone as a credit card, with a twist. This technology is being propelled along with Dwolla, an online payment mediator that allows people to buy things by transferring money from their cellphones (MacLean's).
The digital giants will control all aspects of our digital lifestyles. One company will build you a device, sell it to the consumer and then sell them the content to play on it. Google is starting its first ever home entertainment device, a system for streaming music. Google Music, a free cloud service will allow users to share and discover new music. Facebook is dabbling in phones. Apple, who was primarily a desktop producer, is looking towards televisions where the user can play content from iTunes. This is the creation of ecosystems where consumers and their content are tightly tied-in to one system (New York Times).
YouTube is another example of an Internet company moving towards digital evolution. The Internet is going to replace traditional TV by producing content without networks being involved. They will focus on niche market audiences and tailor programming to the users' specific requirements. Viewers will be able to watch the Tony Hawk channel or catch up with Amy Poehler's Smart Girls at the Party, an advice channel. YouTube streams over four billion videos a day so their built-in market is vast and preexisting (MacLean's).
The Smartphone revolution, clouds, YouTube TV and ultimate control of a users' digital lifestyle are just four of the ways social media will change in the future.
Sources:
MacLean's; January 16, 2012: Volume 125, #1, page 49; "The credit card killer".
MacLean's; February 6, 2012: Volume 125, #4, page 46; "YouTube's exclusives".
The New York Times; February 19, 2012: page 6; "Tech Giants to Control our Digital-Driven Lifestyle".
It's remarkable how much influence social media truly has on how much it is going to change in the future. All of these companies like how you mentioned apple are trying to become more evolved within technology. Apple wants to get into the business world since over the last couple of decades blackberry has been the phone choice for business users. Now i was reading an article on why business users are now starting to want the iPhone over the blackberry. (http://www.cultofmac.com/130843/why-iphone-beats-blackberry-for-business/) I found this was a shocker since we all know that blackberry has been the top business tool for so long. I mean Apple wants to be in the business market because it’s going to be the phone that business users want. It is more convenient for businesses who want to use social media to promote their business ideas. It is a great marketing tool since as technology progresses businesses want to be the top product and want to be in with the newest social media trend. All of these companies are exactly as you said upgrading their devices and trying to make it even better. Smartphones will definitely be the future of social media. Smartphones will be how technology is going to evolve but technology is going to also evolve in the world of entertainment. As you were saying about YouTube it is just amazing how all of these social networking are evolving and changing the way trends are created.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your post i think that the digital giants will run the world and control everything that your doing. The internet is going to control everything and youtube will become the next giant beside google.
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