Excitement and Fear

Wow! I've learned a ton of interesting information from this class. The things I have been taught encouraged me into looking more in depth about the topics. I have always admired the growth of technology, being born into the era and all. I am fascinated at what is to come, but also, terrified. Will we be able to do things with the help of robots? Maybe. Will robots help lessen the cost and workload of major companies? Maybe. Will robots and net neutrality take over? Maybe.

I've enjoyed learning about topics like technology facial recognition. The fact that our phones and information can be unlocked with our very own face. This is something I only saw in shows and movies growing up. Will holograms become stronger and better? Will they become the next FaceTime? Its like Star Wars!

But there again is the upending doom of artificial intelligent and robots taking over the world and killing the human race as we know it. Or the fact that in a little over a week we can have our net neutrality taken away, limit ting our view of the internet. Thus creating a North Korean communist directorship. Okay...maybe not that extreme, but to think they government can do that with just a few signatures is insane.

This always brings to my mind the question, "did other generations have fears like this when growing up?" Of course they were afraid of things, the Cold War could of ended with no one left on earth. Throughout history things have always been scary, but with the advancement of new technologies, who know what is to come.

We'll have to sit back, wait, and see for ourselves.

Convergence

“Network convergence is the efficient coexistence of telephone, video and data communication within a single network. The use of multiple communication modes on a single network offers convenience and flexibility that are not possible with separate infrastructure. Network convergence is also called media convergence.”

Media convergence is good in the sense that it allows for creative industries to circulate content and advertisements. Such as the convergence of traditional and digital sources powers our newspapers to produce much more efficient and up-to-date information. It can reach a much larger audience due to its available access worldwide.

One issue though, is knowing whether or not the information is valid or true. After all, sources may not be required or honest, stripping the original author or their credit. And as you may know, just about anyone believes what they see on the internet to be true, which causes a lot of false information. Outdated content and improper sourcing isn’t fair to the original publisher and the readers.

There is also the saying, “social media is killing press” which is true in a lot of ways. Who wants to go out of their way to receive a paper and physically turn the pages? Most people, and many would argue that its no longer 1955. This takes away jobs and can cause a series of other issues. Why would broadcasting and press want to pay employees when they can slash their numbers in half an make more money? There is also the imposing risk of broadcasting and press companies to be bought out.

Overall, media convergence has its many pros and cons. I do enjoy it, but don’t at the same time. Whether it is beneficial or not will all be seen in the near future. It may help us, it may destroy us.

Quote Source: http://searchconvergedinfrastructure.techtarget.com/definition/network-convergence