Future from the Past

They promised me jet packs and robot housemaids.  So my vision of what a future should look like is framed by what childhood popular culture abounded.  Results in a primary colored pop world of the 80s and 90s.

Wondering out loud -- when so much of the vision of the future was presented as dystopian to Gen X and Y, is it no surprise that their graphics are dark and stoic?  My Batman wasn't nearly as goth as my kid's Dark Knight.

A roundabout way to this new nugget -- how much of today's networked world was foretold in some report from 1982.  My first cynical question is: how many other reports that said we'd see a blossoming of craft printing are forgotten.

Still, a lot of where we are is correct as the Pew Research folks point out.  How close?

“Electronic home information systems…create classes of people based on interests, skills, and even specialized languages. As it becomes easier to link with various others of these classes, to establish relationships with members of these classes, to identify with them, ties with traditional peer group members may break down.”

Or, as the kids say, social cra-cra friends.

Another moment to plug my favorite single book and my favorite quote.

Kansas Follows Through with Policy

After backing away, the Kansas Board of Regents moved ahead with a strong social media policy for its faculty and staff.  Read from the local media.

From The Told-You-So Files

Remember back in the day when this space foretold and advocated for branded journalism?

Another reminder that the future is now.

Here is both the lede and the takeway from an article that you really should go ahead and click above to read fully:

One former USA Today editor says that he's jumping ship to the world of content marketing because editorial is dead. Is there any business model that can save the future of news?
 

The Most Expensive Free Thing in the World is . . .

Social media.

Without a doubt.  Reminded of this fact listening to the pitch session for one of our design classes.  Our College of Fine Arts graciously asked if I'd serve as a "judge" for four branding designs, and one of the teams made social media their lead creative.  Outstanding, I'm thinking, until one of the presenters says:

"Because social media is free, and we know we won't have a large budget."

In the Q&A, I asked them, why did they think social media was free?  Cause it doesn't cost anything to sign up for Facebook, Twitter, etc., etc.

Dose of real-world now, kids.  What does your time as a design cost?  Um, not sure.  Is your creative time not billable?  Not valuable?

They got it pretty quick -- and today, here's a link off PRSA's daily digest of info that reinforces once again, the great myth that social is free.

And, the only free thing more expensive than social media?

Bad social media.

Want to Believe Facebook Can Do Better

Many recall my earlier questioning of the brilliance of the "related stories" tab.  Here's one from a friend in Natchitoches.  I wonder is this is driven by lack of base -- Northwestern State is a smaller school, they're doing some very bad regional demographic profiling and they can see "demon" is the mascot.  According to this story from Inc, Facebook is improving this area.

Example like this don't give us lots of hope.