I remember when I was in elementary school I hated typing up reports on the computer. I thought it was really tedious and that it took forever. That was before I knew how to type fast. And then came AIM and my relationship with the internet and computers completely changed. Next came Yahoo Mail, Shockwave games, Xanga, Livejournal, and Kazaa. Once I entered high school my internet usage evolved beyond entertainment. I began doing research on Google Scholar and online databases, and I shared documents via Google Docs. I found my way around town using Mapquest and started downloading through Mytunes.
Today theres a whole mess of programs and softwares I use on a daily basis: Pandora for music, Yelp for reviews, Constant Contact for work, Google groups for my thesis writing group, and the list goes on. I can't believe I once dreaded writing reports on a computer and now I couldn't imagine handwriting anything! What a change I have experienced in just ten years!
But having what seems like having the world at my finger tips does have its consequences. While I have been able to share all sorts of information with people all over the world, I still dont feel CONNECTED to people. It seems that the internet has brought us closer together also kept us apart. I think there is real value in having in person experiences where we can engage all of our senses. Perhaps thats where the internet is headed in the future. As users demand a more realistic human experience over the internet we may see the development widgets built to enhance our tactile senses. Wouldn't that be something?
But for now I would be happy with a more integrated internet. Lucky for me I'm not the only one! Check out this cool new tool from Mozilla.
Ubiquity for Firefox from Aza Raskin on Vimeo.
Check out the Mozilla blog post about it here.
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