Big Brother

I don't know about you but I'm someone who is always curious to know what's next. For example, when computer first came out monitors were strickly black and white and the images they produced were always a bit blurry. Now, of course, monitors give us incredible HD pictures that often seem clearer and sharper than real life. The same goes with cell phones. When they first came out they were big and bulky and coverage was limited. As for these days... well, that are not to many places left in the world that don't have cell phone coverage and the phones themselves can practically sing and dance . But my question is what's next? What will be the next generation of computers and cell phones or even more interesting to me is what will replace them altogether.

One of the latest outgrowth of computers and cell phones, of course, is the social networking that is happening through things like Facebook, blogs and twittering. My kids text message their friends at all times of day and night. But it brings me right back to my question... what's next? What's the next generation of social networking? But I'm also wondering if at some point it will grind to a halt or be significantly altered? And why? Well, as we see in the news everyday whatever gets posted is there for the world to see. What we think is meant for private consumption may very well be tomorrow's news around school, or the coffee pot at work, or in texts or twitters in places we didn't want it to appear. In George Orwell's book "1984" he envisioned a world where government peered into and controlled all parts of life. And though some days it feels like government is heading in that direction, it's turning out that the peering part is self-inflicted. We've created the means by which we can peer into each other's lives and let the record show that we're having a hard time resisting the temptation. That's why I ask the question... what's next? Will we continue in the same direction with things like Facebook, Youtube, and Twitter or will they one day become as extinct as dinosaurs?

What do you think?