Society and how its functions operate purely through the web

In the book “Technology’s Promise” by William E. Halal predicts that society will make a total shift or conversion to the web. Halal predicts that this will occur within the next 20 years. One of his predictions includes all video media being made available online, on-demand, or through some type of portable device, i.e. the way kindle has made many books available through a portable device. He also predicts that we will be doing other things via the web such as religious and health practices. The way in which society interacts and operates will be something that is mainly done through the web and the tools that have ability to connect to others without having to be physically in the same space. Halal also points to Web 2.0 as a new foundation for social networking. Web 2.0 will allow us to present ideas, photos, videos, music, and our experiences online and engage in conversation about them. Everyone has the potential to be an author, writer, director, and commentator through this new form of social networking.

Halal can make these predictions, because he is basing them off of current technology and trends. We now have employers that employ employees that are considered remote. That work place has become virtual and that trend will only continue. Another example would be the way we meet people. People now a days use sites like www.match.com to meet a potential lover. When it comes to making new friends and interacting with old ones we use sites such as twitter, facebook, and myspace. Halal’s prediction is more of a reality than we think.

Smart Pill Bottle

Smart Pill Bottle: This technology would allow medical bottles that contain pills to interact with patients that take that medication. These bottles would store patient information, how many pills are in the bottle, and frequency for which the patient should be taking the medication. Patients would receive text messages or phone calls letting them know they missed a pill or they are running low on medicine and need to refill. In case of an accident basic patient information would be stored in the bottle, so medical personnel could diagnose the patient more quickly. There would also be some sort of security mechanism where only the patient could open the bottle and authorized users as well.

This technology will be available within 20 years. It will be available, because most of the technology is already out there. We already have services that notify us, whether it is our bank accounts, credit report/scores, or the recording television shows by mobile devices. Another reason why this technology will be available in a short amount of time is because we already have monitoring technology. For example, doctors give patients heart monitoring devices to take home for a couple of days and this device tracks all heart activity. As we can see the technology is actually already there, it is just the matter of consolidating it into one device that serves a specific purpose.

Paperless society

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Redux

Redux is a new web 2.0 tool that has two distinct features. This tool allows you, the end user to upload photos, videos, and music. The tool also allows you to blog as well. These two features can be summed up as: Youtube and Napster meets tweeter. The purpose of the tool is to provide commonality between individuals, whether they are strangers or friends. For example, there are many times that we find out about a good movie, TV show, or song by “word of mouth”. This tool is essentially positioning itself as the “word of mouth”. Not only can I upload clips about my favorite movies or songs, but I can also blog about them within that same posting. That gives users two features, being able to upload personal interest and also being able to comment and engage in conversation about them as well.

This tool can be very instrumental in supporting strategic discussions by providing a stage for innovation, brainstorming, creativity, and commonality. This is a place where ideas and thoughts are presented and commented on. These thoughts and ideas can be used in strategic discussions to move the agenda of the discussion forward. For example, if a company is having strategic discussions about implementing a new technology this tool could be used as a reference of some sort, in regards to previous decisions and how they panned out. The tool could be also used as a way to enlighten strategic discussions. Since people are allowed to upload videos and photos people that are having a strategic discussion could possible go down a different path, because this tool has the potential of showing them something different.

Chronic Kidney Disease

Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) is one case study that is discussed in the book “HOW PEOPLE HARNESS THEIR COLLECTIVE WISDOM AND POWER to construct the future in co-laboratories of democracy” by Alexander N. Christakis. In this case study the author discusses CKD and its impact on the healthcare system. The case study specifically looks at CKD and the way the patients who suffer from it should be cared for. Since many of these patients die a slow and painfully death, the study looks at different ways these patients can possibly be taken care of during their last days. The ideological spectrum on patient care when it comes to this disease is very broad. In the end, the case study looks to come up with common ground on how to deal with these patients.

The study looks to benefit from SDP’s “four basic stages of inquiry” by using this as a process to address this complex problem of CKD. The study shows how each individual and groups of individuals are allowed to express and promote their ideas for patient care when it comes to CKD. Not only are they allowed to promote and express their ideas, but the “four basic stages of inquiry” also allows for categorization. So, ideas and thoughts may be lumped together if there are some similarities. Also, in the “four basic stages of inquiry” the participants are also required to come up with alternate solutions to the problem. The main goal is to recognize barriers between the participants, while allowing the participants to promote those barriers and at the same time understand the other groups or individuals different approaches to the problem.

Humans are prey

In chapter five of the book “The Forturne Seller” by William A. Sherden, the author discusses the human race as not only being predators but prey as well. The author foresees humanity becoming prey to microorganisms. This painted picture of a possible future by this author is very realistic. We only need to look at recent events that involve the swine flu and bird flu that show how vulnerable we are as a race. These recent events have caused deaths and they have also shown how quickly a virus or disease can spread across this planet. The irony in this situation is that technology is a gift and a curse. For example, advances in technology allow us to produce large volumes of an antidote within a short period of time. On the other hand, technology will be the cause for a wide spread epidemic. Trains, planes, and boats will be the vessel for carrying the infected humans from point A to point B. This potential future has already taken place in the past with plagues that have wiped out villages and towns. It has also taken place with recent events as well. The only difference with this prediction is that it is predicting a virus or disease on a massive human extinction level. In the end, humans need to eat and viruses and diseases need a host to infect (that would be us).

Social Brainstorming

XMind is a web 2.0 tool that focuses on project management, collaboration, brainstorming, and mapping. This tool is very useful with a corporate environment, because it takes project management to the next level. Not only are you tracking deadlines, task, and resources, but you are also tracking input, collaboration, and ideas that may contribute to the project you working on or another one.

1) Idea sharing: XMind allows you to share your ideas with others. This feature is a great one, because individuals do not necessarily have to be a resource on the project to contribute. For example, if your organization's senior management is having a discussion about implementing a new process, employees would be able to contribute to the discussion by sharing their ideas via this tool.

2) Mapping / Brainstorming: Another important feature of this tool is mapping or brainstorming. Users can have a discussion among themselves and brainstorm. This brainstorming session will build a map that will look like a bunch of clouds that represents ideas. This feature will be able contribute to strategic discussions, because it will allow individuals to throw random solutions at the wall and then they will be able to see what sticks.

2009 Horizon Report

The Personal Web is a technology that can be looked at in the two parts. In the Horizon Report they talk about The Personal Web as a way of organizing online content. Currently, this technology exists. Google has apps that allows you to combine blogs, emails, and news. The second part of The Personal Web that does not exist now is the ability to organize personal and sensitive information. For example, there does not seem to be an application that allows you to centralize your credit scores, bank accounts, investment accounts, and bills all in one place. I believe this technology is probably 3 years away. There are some sights such as www.mint.com that pulls in your bank information, but it does not allow you to interact with your account. The technology part of this Personal Web application will probably be easy, but the buy-in will be the most difficult part. Getting people to trust the web and a application that houses all of their personal information, such as social security number, address, and date of birth all in one place will be tricky.


A trend that not only affects technology, but also the economy is globalization. The 2009 Horizon Report looks at globalization as a way of doing business, communicating, accessing information, and interacting with others. Overnight, the world as a whole has adopted globalization as the way of the future. For example, businesses such as KFC and McDonalds receive a good percentage of their profits from overseas. Technology jobs and outsourced to what we call “the offshore team” and the communication with this offshore team is as transparent as if you were communicating with your fellow employee in the office next to you. Video games have also adopted the globalization culture into their technology. So, when a kid is playing Madden or NBA Live they have the option of playing their friend down the road from their house or playing with a random individual from Africa, Asia, or Europe. The 2009 Horizon Report called this a trend, but maybe its more of an adoption of culture shift and change.

Our environment and what we are doing to it

http://www.ted.com/talks/al_gore_warns_on_latest_climate_trends.html

1) Al Gore talks about how the polar caps are melting and what that is doing to the environment. There are more droughts and more fires because of this change in our environment.

2) Al Gore also shows two sides of the argument in this video as well. He shows how the coal companies are brushing off the talks of climate change as something that is minor. On the other hand, he shows the side of people and some businesses who are actually doing something about the climate change and the new approaches they are taking to save the environment and our planet.

Watching this video makes you wonder how important a dollar really is. Is making a dollar so important, that the destruction of your own backyard is secondary or in some cases it doesn't even matter? Some people say I love my kids and my family and I want to leave them a better world, but I wonder how true that statement is sometimes. If certain people really cared about their kids and their families they would take the extra step to make sure our world is livable for them in the future as it was livable for themselves growing up. How much information do people need to make a sound and reasonable decision about global warming? It amazes me that executives can take reports and data from their database systems and trust that information when it comes to making key business decisions, but when it comes to global warming some people fill the information is inaccurate or non-sufficient. Is it the information that is being supplied or is it the way of life and how the call for change will impact that way of life that is the real concern?

Data, databases, datawarehouses, and personal-data

In today's world data is needed to make sound business and personal decisions. The important thing to note about data is that it is only as valuable as the manner or method in which it is housed, verified, and presented. For example, if your bank posted the same transaction twice to your account you would think you had less money than what you actually did. The data that is used to make a decision is just as important (if not more important) than the decision that is based off of that data. In the end, always be suspicious and scrutinize data as you would your own personal decisions.