The End

Imagine how different your everyday activities would be without the use of technology. You would not be able to Skype your friend to let her know all about your trip to Australia. You would not be able to “Google” where the closest post office is to your house. We live in an ever changing society where something new is always being replaced by the something bigger, faster, and better. This concept of new media is greatly outlined in The End series. Podcasts instead of radio, YouTube instead of TV, and blogs instead of mainstream media is a clear example of this shift of bigger and better technology.

In the world of radio we are moving towards the online podcast to retrieve our information. The End of Radio points out that the podcast is so popular because its radio on demand. People can rewind, pause and stop the podcast they are listening to, where as in radio this is not possible.
In the world of TV people can use PVRs or YouTube instead of watching their 30 minute sitcom with commercials. I feel the in the world of TV moving to the web, advertising will have to become smarter since now as consumers we have the power to rewind through the ads and just watch the content.

I feel what The End is trying to express, is that we now live in a world where old technologies are becoming obsolete. One of the biggest reasons is the design constraints of a specific technology. If we think about all the different kinds of constraints which could affect how our technology is being used, it is almost impossible to make something which works with no problems. This is what leads us to improve our technology such as TV, Print and Media and move into the world of podcasts and bloggers.

The answer everyone wants to know is what is going to happen next? The End series helped us to understand the many new inventions of TV, Radio and Print. But what will happen next…. Only time will tell.