15 Minutes of Fame
It's been said that it has never been easier to earn your 15 minutes in the spotlight than in this age and time. While certain prerequisites such as talent or good looks have for the longest time limited the list of candidates, today knows no such boundaries. First came the age of reality-TV when it seemed like society had nothing better to do than to get involved in the sad reality of nobodies (Big Brother). Since then countless spinoffs have been produced, some exploiting the aspirations of pitiable freaks (DSDS) while others claim to find the true diamonds in the rough (The Voice of Germany). Low TV ratings tell of a new superstar, however, one that threatens to establish itself as the true master of lower-class entertainment: YouTube. Stardom has never been easier. Record, edit, upload. Would the world be so endeared to a 16-year old (who still looks and appears to be a sexless pre-pubescent boy) if his ascent had not been chronicled in grainy home videos suggesting that everyone could make it now? What about that sleepy singer with the long eye-lashes and her monotonous blabber? Would we listen to her records if we had not been wowed by the alleged talents of an amateur? Justin Bieber and Lana Del Rey, however, have somewhat outgrown their lowly internet beginnings and appear to have the power to last. But there are also those who become phenomena over night and disappear after what seems like two seconds. The numa-numa headbanger, the Jersey shore character downing Jäger-bombs, or Charlie biting his brother's finger. 10 millions hits, global attention, and then poof...gone they are again. Which brings me to the point I'm actually trying to make.
"[...] you too will learn that the future is bright, shiny, and small enough to fit in the palm of your hand. Ask your friendly hi-fi dealer for a demo today."(Find the full article here.) Think you know the product described here? Nope, we are not talking IPod or even MP3-player. MD is the keyword, here. Never heard of it? Well, the article covering the release of this product which is being hailed as the future of data compression was published in 1999. The latest innovation was called MiniDisc and my tech-savy friends swore that this would be the technology for years to come. Boy, were they all wrong. I'd bet good money on the fact that most of my fellow students have never even held a MD player in their hand, granted they have even heard of it. Those who have listened to my endless rants throughout the semester know what is coming next. Why on earth would schools use up their tiny budgets to invest into a technology that will be outdated within a couple of years time? As great as Interactive WhiteBoards can be (as mentioned in my Course Evaluation), no doubt about it, the expiration date is nigh. It is imminent that the big corporations are going to want a piece of the education cake and they are certainly not going to base their developments on the current models...or technology. You might contradict me by saying that I, too, am gambling on future developments but to think that SmartBooks are the future costs 10k and doesn't necessarily result in increased use of the NewMedia at school. My plea is simple: be wary of the future, think of the past, and spent wisely.