Recap:
Topic: The Future of Multimedia: Visual, News, Music & Social
This discussion was led by Columbus Futurists member Onyemobi Anyiwo. He took the group on a journey recalling how we received information – news, music, movies – and communicated with friends and family – starting with 1967, and then jumping 10 years forward until we reached present day. Very interesting not only to see how technology and social behavior has evolved – but also how we recollect those changes. Many people in the room had no memory of the earlier times – they weren’t born yet!
The exercise made the discussion less abstract – lent an air of reality as everyone remembered how their tools and their preferences had changed over the years,
Finally, the discussion looked ahead – what would the situation be in 2027 – 10 years hence? The possibilities are at once kind of clear – a continuation of current trends – and obscure – as we don’t know what unexpected disjunctures in technology might be waiting for us.
From the promo for the meeting:
The last 17 years has seen dramatic changes in the ways we receive media content. 20th Century Media “Goliaths” have been slain by 21st Century Media “Davids”. Home video companies like Blockbuster & Hollywood Video were hurt by Cable On-Demand & Pay-Per-View services, and eventually finished off by Redbox and Netflix.
Music stores like Tower Records which used to be staples of shopping malls across the country, have closed their doors due to the creation of the MP3, their subsequent sharing via P2P networks (Napster, Kazaa, etc), as well as the purchase and streaming options offered by Itunes, Amazon, Pandora & Spotify.
Cable News, which introduced the 24 hours news cycle, is unable to keep up with the likes of Twitter, YouTube and other social media platforms in terms of delivering breaking news.
Speaking of which, even cable television itself is faltering as more and more people are joining the “cordcutting” revolution and opting for streaming services powered by media sticks & boxes, such as Google Chromecast, Kodi, Roku, Amazon Fire Stick, Apple TV, etc.
But even the new media titans aren’t safe themselves from being supplanted by newer up-and-comers. And technology like Augmented and Virtual Reality promises to deliver more interactive types of media that we previously have only been able to imagine. So the question is: What is the future of media? Where do we go from here?
Some suggested reading resources (any one of these articles serves as fuel for the discussion):
- Netflix Isn’t Killing Movies, Hollywood Studios and Theaters Are
- Best Media Streamers of 2017
- The Slow Death of Redbox: Why the Kiosk Colossus Is the Next Blockbuster
- Your ultimate guide to cutting cable and saving money on streaming TV
- Social Media Update 2016
- All things must pass — another record store gone
- The Evolving Role of News on Twitter and Facebook
- News Use Across Social Media Platforms 2016
Another great discussion in an exciting agenda emerging for our meetings this year.
Columbus Futurists 