Googlezon

"EPIC 2015" is a mix of recent internet media history and speculation on the future. It was posted in 2007, so some of the speculation concerns the present. It is a fascinating look into where exactly media could be headed in our not so distant future. As the title mentions, the predictions are made for the year 2015. The original was titled “Epic 2014,” and due to the passing of time and developments in media it had quickly become outdated.

The movie speaks for itself, but there are some pertinent points that link to things we have been discussing in class. The notion of the public becoming their own reporters and broadcasting directly to other users via an IPod or mobile device is an interesting idea, but in actuality may be too “noisy” to really work. It would require some sort of labeling system to sort the posts, which would rely on the broadcaster to accurately tag their information. The potential for abuse and too great a focus on the individual seems like this promotion would be unlikely.

Another interesting point in the film is the idea of a merger between Google and Amazon. The search capabilities of Google mixed with Amazon’s suggestions would revolutionize the way we interact with the internet media. This complete personalization of our media consumption being chosen by third parties is a frightening concept, and one that is becoming more of a reality every day. While it seems unlikely that this would completely replace normal news outlets, it certainly is a potential future and one that we need to seriously think about before it’s upon us.