I have been watching Kevin Kelly’s TED Talk on the next 5,000 days of the web over and over this week. In December 2007, he gave this speech discussing the web––what people expected, what actually happened and what’s going to happen. He even gives the cloud a shout-out. And, well, the cloud is here in a way everyday users understand and interact with it. Microsoft, Google and Amazon have launched their cloud technologies. And now, at this week’s WWDC, Apple officially unveiled iCloud. While these technologies are geared toward individual users, companies are using the cloud too. Here at Monscierge, all of our touch screens pull information from our Monscierge Recommendation Cloud. But for individuals, these releases are extremely powerful tools for our increasingly mobile lives. Essentially, an individual can access their files, photos and music from their laptop, desktop and mobile devices without syncing. Obviously there are some restrictions––like working cross platform for Mac or Windows users. But, using Amazon Cloud Drive, you can access them anywhere. I can’t help but think of what Kevin Kelly said about the web in 2007: “It’s amazing, and we’re not amazed.” That’s still true, isn’t it? We aren’t amazed. We’re all just ready and waiting for the next convenient piece of technology. I am of the first generation to grow up with Internet in my home. My parents got us AOL when I was in junior high. Look at where we are now. Though I still miss the AOL unsend option, we’ve come a long way since dial-up. We’re checking our emails on mobile phones. And really, that’s amazing. It seems we’re already living in the stratosphere. Where do you think we are going to be in 2020––when Kevin Kelly’s 5,000 days have lapsed?
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If you haven’t already seen the Ted Talk, you can can view it here. I know it’s a couple years old, but Kelly’s topics are still relevant and forward thinking.