here's a futurama clip that's supposed to represent the future of the internet


marriedtothesea.com
and this is just funny because years ago, when I was in elementary school, I could have never imagined the internet or what role it would play in my life. so it's hard to think I'll be spot-on with my current predictions.

Web 3.0

I looked on Wikipedia for a little help in envisioning what Web 3.0 will look like, although you could argue it's another nebulous label.

One of the new developments predicted in Web 3.0 is "geoweb," which merges the abstract information of the internet with location-based information, making some sort of cyber spatial organization. Apparently, things like GoogleEarth and maps (and probably the creepy GoogleStreets, if that's still up) are helping to propel this. Eventually, I guess, there will be some kind of virtual reality world that more closely resembles our own. There will also be a shift towards artificial intelligence. I expect the internet will be more intuitive and actively guide you toward things in a more nuanced way.

Apparently the CEO of Google was asked to define Web 2.0 and Web 3.0 and he said, "Web 2.0 is a marketing term, and I think you've just invented Web 3.0" so I guess he thinks these terms are pretty arbitrary.

If I could invest in a Web 3.0 company...well, they don't necessarily exist yet but I think I'd invest in something like Secondlife or World of Warcraft because that seems to be the direction the internet is going in, in terms of full immersion. Although I think it will probably expand beyond games or entertainment and become more totalizing, and like the above, more "intelligent" and adaptive to the user. We can already see things becoming more physical and interactive in the gaming industry...like Wii and Guitarhero and Nintendo DS which uses that weird pen thing. These things also seem more social.

digital aesthetics - second thoughts

Now that it's clear to me this is just a digital application of aesthetics I can see the implications. I think digital art changes our perception of art since there is no tangible piece or performance (in the case of digitally composed music) and it is always easily alterable. How does one display a painting created in Adobe photoshop? Is it just a print? (that kind of reminds me of benjamin's aura...here there is no original authentic object in the first place! everything is a copy, the original file does not hold the same aura as the original "Starry Night") What about digitally altered photography's place in the art of photography? Does that blur the distinction between taking an image of reality and creating a reality? What about web design or other "new" forms of creation? There are a lot of confusing implications that are also exciting for the art world, though traditionalists might thoroughly disagree. Personally, as an artist, I don't feel threatened by the digital era because it's just another medium to work with and each medium, whether it be paint or photoshop, poses its own problems, limitations and meanings.