I just read a great article on video phones titled “The history of video phones and their role in the media”, and the term World 2.0 popped into my head. Scenes from The Jetsons, Demolition Man and Fifth Element too…

Sure we’ve been chatting with web cams for years now, and everyone and their brother has a camera or video cell phone these days. But it made me realize how far we have come in the last decade… and made me curious what the next decade might bring.

Will we all have video phones installed in our homes so that we’ll be able to see the person we are calling… and be seen every time we answer the phone? That would certainly make me screen calls more carefully - wouldnt it you?

You can check out the article on video phones - it was a great read, and I found it very thought provoking. Particularly where the author talked about how this technology affects news and reporting:

Video technology in mobile telephones will have an impact on society in many ways according to those who study trends in culture. One impact will be in the number of people who will be on the scene during breaking news events and able to record those events on their telephones and transmit them, making news gathering quicker, more accurate, and increasingly more the realm of amateurs as first gatherers rather than of the reporters who cover news for a living.

Much like Blogging, Web 2.0 and Consumer Generated Advertising… but ‘out in the real world’ . Like I said, it’s interesting to imagine what the next decade may bring in the way of major shifts and technology advancements.

I’m curious what your thoughts are on this - and what type of results or changes you anticipate will come of it all over the next few years…

Tags: the jetsons, video phones, camera phones, web cams, technology