Information Technology

The next phase of information technology
The social impacts of data projection or what happens when the data breaks loose and is projected onto real space...

photo credit  TheWoodenBlock

Eversion

Eversion literally means to turn inside out.  In the sense of data, the concept of eversion sees its forerunners in projection technology.    In the technological race instead of immersing in the matrix by removing all external sensory input and wiring directly into the net, we instead appear to be bringing our data with us into the real world.

Interesting technologies that are part of this process include speckled computing, which is pretty much the ultimate in distributed information processing, micro to nano scale rfid technology, 3d video and holographic technology advances.

Projected Impact

The projected impact of these tech advances create some interesting social questions.   As the ability to project our realities onto real world surfaces and even spaces increases, many of the problems that the internet currently faces will be mirrored in a much more personal way.

Available bandwidth

will be a major factor in determining the impact of data signals that are actively sent.   The earliest affects will be seen when people begin tagging items, places, themselves and random people that are roaming the streets with descriptive terms.    There is no question that freedom of speech issues will be soon to follow, as people go about their age old routines of labeling and attempting to avoid being labeled in ways that do not please them.   

These signals will be propagated through devices, or perhaps even with bio or solar power particulate dust operating as relays or nodes.     As tech savvy individuals get more skilled in creating ways to project data, something much akin to a customizable reality will begin to envelope various individuals.    It is as strange enough to think of the artistic expressions that will emerge as people gain skills in creating mobile 3d realities around them, as it is to consider the culture shock that will evolve around this.

As with any new technology, there will be people who are wired in and those who are either excluded by choice or simply because they lack the technology to communicate in these new forms.  The free-for-all which began as the web began to take shape will be even more intense as this transitions into real space.

Awkward questions arise as to where one individuals personal space ends and another begins.   At first many of these interactions will be consensual, as only the first movers will have access to the equipment.   

Advertising

It won’t be long before advertising attempts to break into this new media space, with a relentless onslaught of information attempting to invade this new hub of communications.   There will be those that choose to become walking billboards, those who insert conceptual advertisements into their data feeds, those who broadcast commercial messages on open channels hoping to ensnare or overpower any lower bandwidth person that walks into their space.    As with all forms of advertising there will be corporations that demand the right to speak freely, and individuals who will work actively to resist this new form of intrusion.

Bandwidth (page 2)