Current and

Future Trends
in Media and
Information
⊳ What “futuristic drawing” can you
see in the picture?
⊳ This picture was drawn in 1905,
two years after Wilbur and Orville
Wright invented the first
successful airplane. Based on
your knowledge in science, do
you think that this airplane model
would materialize? Why or why
not?
The 10 New
Paradigms of
Communication in the
Digital Age
PARADIGM 1: FROM AUDIENCE TO
USER
The communication process in the
actual scenario is user centered: users
have the control to choose, to decide,
to search, to define and configure, to
subscribe or unsubscribe, to comment
and, most important: to write, talk and
film.
PARADIGM 2. FROM MEDIA TO
CONTENT
The media convergence has reset
media identity. Media brand image
becomes one of the most valuable
activities of media companies: a
source of credibility and prestige
for digital content.
PARADIGM 3. FROM MONOMEDIA TO
MULTIMEDIA
The multimedia identity of the actual
environment allows all media
industries to converge online and
traditional media (press, broadcast,
movies). Online media are
multimedia, and multimedia is a
new language.
PARADIGM 4. FROM PERIODICITY
TO REAL-TIME
Sharing news and opinions with the ability to
interact in real-time are the seed of cyber
communities. However, opportunities for
reflection diminishes when information comes
and goes as quick as time, but today’s fast-
paced information promotes dynamism and
new conversational styles.
PARADIGM 5. FROM
SCARCITY TO ABUNDANCE
Space for the print media and time for
broadcast media ceased to be the limit to
content and now the time of the user is the
new scarce resource. The overflow of
information calls for new skills and tools to
manage data, news, and opinions.
PARADIGM 6. FROM EDITOR-
MEDIATED TO NON-MEDIATED
Worldwide publishing without editors, but with a
close peer review daily process and in most
cases open to comments from readers is the
nature of social web publishing. Hence, the
agenda of relevant current affairs goes beyond
the established media land and now is share with
a wide variety of new sources, most of them not
media.
PARADIGM 7. FROM DISTRIBUTION TO
ACCESS
The access paradigm is complementary with
the user center paradigm and both explain
the strong interactive nature of the new
environment. Access means to seek,
search, navigate, surf, decide, an active
attitude, a will to connect and
communicate, the contrary of the passive
reception of media content.
PARADIGM 8.
FROM ONE WAY TO
INTERACTIVITY
This has three levels:
First level: the possibility for the user to choose the format of
information display (browser and navigation interface
configuration).
Second level: the possibility for the user to produce input for
a system. This contribution could be co-authoring, writing
comments, answering pools and tests, posting news, and
so on.
Third level: the possibility for the user to communicate with
other users of the system in real or delay time.
PARADIGM 9. FROM LINEAR TO HYPERTEXT
Hypertext becomes the grammar of the digital
world. The pathways of the info-spaces are
built on links. Creating and activating links
online could be the new name of
alphabetization. Reading and writing by
linking, this is, exploring and creating hyper
textual environments daily is the most
strategic skill digital natives are achieving.
PARADIGM 10. FROM DATA TO KNOWLEDGE

The extraordinary amount of data these days

bring back the role of media as social
managers of knowledge. Today, the strategic
mission of media is the information about the
information: information intelligence,
interpretation, filtering and searching
combined with the challenge of new
interactive multimedia narratives and
delivered by a wide range of channels.
Trends in Digital
Technology
 Haptics technology
Is a feedback technology (using computer
applications) that takes advantage of the user’s
sense of touch by applying force, vibrations
and/or motions to the User. Simple haptics is
used in game controllers, joysticks and steering
wheels and is becoming more common in
Smartphones. Haptics is gaining widespread
acceptance as a key part of virtual reality
systems (i.e. computer simulated environments)
Adding the sense of touch to previously visual
only solutions. It is also used in virtual arts,
such as sound synthesis, graphic design
and animation. There are many possibilities
for Haptics to be applied to gaming,
movies, manufacturing, medical, and other
industries. Imagine your doctor operating
on your local hospital from his computer in
Australia.
Haptic and luminous
screen 2"
by jeanbaptisteparis is
licensed under CC
BY-SA 2.0
Contextual
awareness
By combining ‘hard sensor’ information such as where you
are and the conditions around you, combined with ‘soft
sensors’ such as your calendar, your social network and
past preferences - future devices will constantly learn
about who you are and how you live, work and play. As
your devices learn about your life, they can begin to
anticipate your needs. Imagine your PC advising you to
leave home 15 minutes early or take a different route to
avoid a traffic jam on your way to work. Consider a
“context aware” remote control that instantly determines
who is holding it and automatically selects the Smart TV
preferences for that person.
 Voice
and tone
recognition
Not only can voice and tone recognition
be used to confirm a person’s identity
but tone recognition can be used to
detect a person’s health or emotional
state. This technology will open new
opportunities in security and
healthcare – with mobile applications.
Intelligent
routing to
devices
This future technology will be useful to, for
example, local councils. While on the
move, staff will be able to provide the
precise description and location of a street-
based issue using Smartphones and
mobile devices that can take photos and
have GPS (global positioning system)
support. Intelligent routing will then alert the
responsible team to action.
Eye tracking
technology
Eye tracking technology measures eye positions
and movements which are analyzed through
computer applications. Future laptops,
smartphones and tablets could contain thousands
of tiny imaging sensors built into the display
screen. Eye tracking technology could have many
possible applications, including:
Law enforcement – lie detection
Airport security – identifying suspicious behavior,
e.g. to catch terrorists before they strike
Retail – recording, monitoring and
analyzing consumer behavior to ‘tailor’ marketing to
individuals
 Safety - alerting and awakening a
 drowsy or distracted driver would save many lives
 Health care – assisting people with disabilities or paralysis
to communicate (laptop) and improve mobility (electric
wheelchair)
 Human-computer interaction – using screen icons and a
blink here or a gaze there. Say goodbye to the mouse and
keyboard.
"Google Glass"
by jurvetson is licensed
under CC BY 2.0
Internet glasses
Technology that can display images directly onto
our retinas while not blocking our sight is being
developed. This technology can be used in
eyeglasses and have uses ranging from e-
Gaming to military defense. In the next 10-20
years experts predict that Internet glasses will
replace Smartphones. Imagine these viewing
experiences:
Seeing building schematics and locations of others
(especially useful for security or fire fighters)
Giving a speech while information is streamed to your
eyeglasses in real time
Receiving turn by turn directions as you walk toward
your destination
Viewing virtual recipes while cooking without losing
your rhythm
Walking down the street, seeing one of your friends
show up "on screen" 2 blocks and 1 cafe away
Wearable Technology
Wearable technologies today are smart watches. These
watches are worn as a typical wristwatch but do more
than just tell time. Modern smart watches perform the
same functions as smartphones.
Smart watches as a wearable are developed for
convenience, but its inability to function as an
independent gadget puts it at a distinct disadvantage.
Another example is a Fitness tracker. It is
derived from smart watches in form and
physical design but serves health
applications. Fitness trackers aim to
promote health and wellness among its
enthusiasts, unfortunately, issues in their
accuracy have been raised in several
reviews.
Virtual Reality (VR) wearable technology is
gradually growing in popularity among
enthusiasts. Wearable technology takes users to
computer generated worlds and let them
experience it as if they were actually there.
However, concerns were raised about VR
technology’s potential to cause a total
disconnection from the physical world.
"Wearable Technology" by
ForbesOste is licensed
under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
The Massive Open
Online Course and
its implications
The Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) is defined as
a model for delivering learning content online to any
person who wants to take a course, with no limit on
attendance. It can be characterized by the following:

1. A revolutionary approach to education that moves

away from the physical to the virtual
2. A kind of learning that happens online, breaking the
norm of traditional schools or universities for higher
education.
3. Utilizes information technologies
like analytics to help instructors
gauge their student’s learning.
4. Emphasis on connectedness.
The Implications
1. By taking learning into virtual space, attendance is no
longer a determining factor in one’s education. This
makes MOOC learning a popular alternative for those
whose life situations make them unable to attend regular
schools
2. Managing MOOC is relatively cheaper than running
educational institutions. By taking out the experiences of
Universities – which are passed down to students in
exorbitant fees- MOOC addresses the high cost of
education.
3. Analytic provides information about the learning
process of students. Through the use of data
collected through analytics, MOOC provides a
means to improve learning.
4. Since it focuses on connectedness as part of the
learning process, MOOC allows education to take
place on a global scale, connecting learners and
instructors all over the world to one another to
maximize education.