Howard Billings
Research Paper
Dig 3286
Dromology and Convergence
In today’s world of instant digital information and communication technology is constantly advancing. Inventors are constantly working to produce new awe-inspiring products. The goal of all these new products is to work faster than the ones that came before it. Of course, technical advancement is nothing new. Whether it was the car, the microwave, or a vacuum cleaner all were produced to increase the speed at which we do things. The difference is that digital technology is increasing not only the speed of the new products, but the speed at which these new products are being produced. Either way it is safe to say that technology and the world revolve around speed. The main goal of every industry is to do things fast and efficiently. Accessing information and communication is already faster than one could have ever imagined. The quest now is to become even faster. Push technology to its limits. In fact, the quest now is to set new limits. Is it plausible to think that we could one day communicate faster than the speed of light? Olympic track athlete Usain Bolt is a good comparison to where we are today as a technological society. His record breaking 100 meters times have reached mythical proportions. It used to be that taller heavier athletes were at a disadvantage in the 100 meters. Their height and weight would work against them, allowing the smaller runner to jump out to a lead that could not be overcome. Bolt however has been blessed with extraordinary ability. He possess the best of both worlds. The speed and quickness of a smaller runner with the power and stride of a bigger one. Technology today possess those same remarkable abilities. The ever popular smart phone is small, fast, but just as powerful as the desktop computer. Current technology gives its user the ability to interact with the world. The shrinking world is best seen in business and socializing sites. As technology advances the world will continue to get smaller and smaller. Frenchman Paul Virilio is best known for his writings about technology. He critiques the way technology is transforming our society and offers several insightful theories on the connection between speed, technology and war. It is virilio who developed the word “dromology”. Dromos in ancient Greece was a racecourse. A place for running, what we know as a track. “Dromology’ in essence is the science of speed. It studies how inventions in speed influence social and political life. Virilio says that speed is crucial to the production of wealth and power. Virilio, much like Lev Manovich does throughout his book The language of New Media, historically credits the military as the origin of today’s technological society. He explains that war requires increased speed and efficiency and military technology provided those instruments. The instruments main purpose was to eliminate distances in time and space. The same methodology for war carried over to industrial society as technology was developed to increase speed of transportation, communication, and information. For the military eliminating time and space distances meant being able to readily identify and target the enemy. For the industrial society eliminating distances between time and space means globalization. Globalization is the interchange of world culture, politics and economics across world space. We are currently a globalized economy. We can text, email, or video chat with persons all over the world. Electronic commerce allows us to buy and sell products worldwide with no physical presence. To virilio’s credit it is important to note that politics economics and even some culture has always been global but modern globalization is defined by the speed in which can share goods, money, political and culture ideas. The advent of the internet and the digital revolution is to thank for high speed technology as we know it today. Convergence is the occurrence of two or more things coming together. In the case of today’s technology, convergence is in the process of combining all media types into one. As with everything convergence is nothing new. The radio was just a radio until it became capable of playing cd’s and tapes. The now almost defunct fax machine was a combination of a telephone and a printer. What’s different about today’s convergence is that digitally we are capable of doing numerous things all on one device. The smart phone has become the do it all device of modern technology. Computer, telephone, GPS, camera, alarm clock, music player, flashlight, newspaper, dictionary, television, Movie Theater, calendar, the list goes on and on. What many don’t realize is that convergence doesn’t just pertain to technology, there are other forms as well. There is corporation or economic convergence. Walt Disney, ABC, and ESPN have converged to become one big happy money making family. Culturally, we converge things together all the time. Notice how Harry Potter whose character was created in a novel now exist in movies, toys, video games, candy, amusement rides, you name it! Memes are another good example of cultural convergence. Remixing an image, many of which are famously know, with the feelings and ideas of a particular group. There is also global convergence. The NBA and Major League Baseball come to my mind first as both have established a global presence to obtain good players and revenue. Technology and digital media are in the midst of what I like to call a “super digital convergence” and the smart phone is just the beginning.
I will begin my “super digital convergence” of the future inside the home since that is where most of us spend a lot of our time. Homes will become digital smart homes. Microwaves, stoves, refrigerators all will become smart appliances. These appliances will be interactive touch screen versions of their former selves. Your stove, for example will have Bluetooth compatibility to play music as well as alert you from the bedroom when your water begins to boil. Home alarm systems will be digital. If a fire breaks out systems will alert your phone and more importantly the fire rescue. The days of arriving to a burnt down home will be no longer. AC and heating units will smartly control themselves based upon the weather outside. In high end smart homes screens will no longer be required. Walls and floors will be interactive viewing stations capable of playing games, video chatting and surfing the internet. Basically your home will be automated with a digital layer connected to the internet, customized to fit your needs and desires. Once you leave your digital home wearables will become the fashion trend. Clothing and accessories will incorporate computer and electronic technologies. Watches, bracelets, earrings, headbands, glasses etc. all will make interacting with technology hands free. Wearables will be comparable to what smartphones are today, everyone will have one of some sort. If wearables are to become the new fashion, then naturally stores will fall in line with my “super digital convergence” theory. Shopping will become a digital experience. Stores will engage customers with interactive displays of merchandise. Sales messages will be sent out to customers based on their tweets, Facebook post, and general shopping history. When Mary post on Facebook that “at mall with son looking for baseball cleats “#aggravated. Stores will now send Mary information on their particular sales, shoe sizes, colors, even pictures of the cleats they have stock. Cable and satellite providers will also jump on board my “super convergence theory”. Joining forces to form one super television list of channels. Lastly with real technology, innovation, and real-time interaction dominating the world crowdfunding events like one spark will become major happenings all over the world. Inspiring persons to come up with the next big thing.
Bibliography
Douglas Kellner (1998) Illuminations Virilo, War, and Technology: Some Critical Reflection
WWW.uta.edu/huma/illuminations/kell29.htm
Deloitte University Press (2014) Tech Trends 2014 http://dupress.com/periodical/trend Neil Postman, N, P (1992) Technopoly
United States: Alfred A Knopf, Inc.; New York
Lev Manovich, L, M (2001) Language of New media
Cambridge Massachusetts: The MIT press. 