The Age of Awe

I wanted to start this blog for a couple reasons. Beyond the obvious boost of self-importance that comes with the idea that people might read and care what I say, the main reason is that I believe my generation is growing up in a time of unrivaled technological advancement. The year that I was born marked the beginning of the commercialization of the internet and the creation of the first three ISPs. I remember downloading my first song on Naptster on a 56k modem connection, connecting to AOL and hearing "You've got mail," using Yahoo to search the web because Google didn't exist, and playing the MSDOS game "nibbles" that unknowingly came preloaded on everybody's Windows machine for a time. I remember my first cell phone which was the classic brick-like Nokia, playing the original Nintendo NES, and using Windows 3.1.

My life has already seen the unbelievable proliferation of the internet to the point where no-one in my generation could ever imagine life without it. This is no exaggeration, and this is not to say that we are somehow weak enough to have become dependent on technology. The truth is that the internet was such a giant leap in the technological world that it would truly be impossible to go back. Older generations could laugh and scoff at the fact that in 3 years of college I have yet to check out, or even look at, a book from the library. Now this is not exactly typical, but neither is it uncommon. The most frequented resource has become Wikipedia, which by definition is the most unreliable source imaginable. A place where every article can be edited by anyone and everyone. The success of Wikipedia however, is a good model for the success of the internet as a whole--no matter the amount of people who log onto the internet with mal-intent, there is an overwhelming counter-force of smart people interested in the spread of knowledge over this new web that connects more people simultaneously that ever imaginable.

Connectivity has spread as well to mobile devices in a way that could not have been predicted. In a 2 minute span I can check the MLB scores around the country, get directions, check movie times, and have 5 conversations with people up to 3000 miles away (and know when they are "typing a message") on my Blackberry. iPhone users can do even more with the outrageous number of apps now available for (extremely cheap) purchase and use. Some iPhone apps have replaced entire devices and yet are still sold for $0.99.

The direction technology is taking us is so exciting to me. I can only imagine where we will be in 10 and 20 years, what kind of devices we will have and how much more connected the world will be. I do know that we have some of the smartest people in the world being given the freedom to answer these questions, and I know that someday I hope to be in a position to help change the world at least a little with technology as well. These ideas, and the fact that my love for writing has not been satisfied by my three technical majors, are the reasons I decided to start another blog where I can deposit my ramblings. I hope at least someone enjoys.