The future of Internet Advertising!

It’s common knowledge that most Internet sites make their money off of advertisements. However, I wondered why anyone would ever click on the annoying, flashing advertisements that I’m so accustomed to ignoring. Convinced that I must be missing something, I sought out to discover the reason why the main source of revenue from sites came from advertisement. I found the answer I was looking in the New York Times.

It turns out most people were ignoring the flashy advertisements just as I had. However, the same way smart companies have allowed and encouraged costumers to actively participate in the process of developing improved products, advertisements have begun to do the same. New “interactive ads” are presented to a computer user in a way that allows him to actively participate in the product. Thinking back to where I might have seen this before, I realized that I had been suckered into participating in an “interactive advertisements” only a few months ago while visiting my favorite site, collegehumor.

One of the best segments on the site, along with “prank wars” which surprising came to umd for the incredible halfcourt prank, is the “Gotta Go in a Minute Show.” After every show, a silly twenty second clip promoting mountain dew’s new flavor of soft drink would air. In these ads, each flavor of soft drink would playfully argue with one another over who tasted the best, until finally a voice would shout “you decide!” and give the link to vote for the newest flavor. The fact that I had been given the option to participate compelled me to click the link and cast my vote. Needless to say, when the product came out which also happened to be the same one I voted for, I was eager to try the new product I had chosen.

Because I felt I had been a part of choosing the newest soft drink offered by mountain dew, I was already a fan of the product. Smart advertisement companies have taken advantage of the ability to interact with customers, while previous ads in a newspaper provided no means of immediate conversation. These relatively new interactive ads are exciting, for they not only benifit the advertisers and sites by recieving more responses than traditional advertisemetns, but also benifit the consumer as well, giving her the ability to help decide what product will be manufactured.

SUPER COOL NEW TECHNOLOGY!

A team of researchers at M.I.T. have created a device which they are calling a "sixth sense technology," which allows one to browse the Internet, use the phone, check the time, take pictures, and practically everything else one can imagine. However, unlike a phone, i pod, or computer screen, this technology can be projected onto any possible surface imaginable, and is navigated through the motion of ones fingers in thin air. Sounds crazy right?? If you don't believe me, WATCH THIS VID!! 

As the MIT professor introduced the amazing features of this new technology, my though

Cover of The Terminator

ts continued to wander back ten or so years ago to the first time I watched "Terminator," starring the bodybuilder/actor/governor/moron, Arnold Schwarzenegger. For those of you who saw the movie, think back to the scenes that were meant to give us a look at the world through the Terminator's perspective. As he examined his surroundings, he received constant updates about his environment by a computer, giving useful information about everything he saw. Words can't describe how envious I was of the Terminator, imagining the advantage of having instant access to knowledge about my surroundings. This new technology developed by the folks at MIT has made this childhood dream a reality! (at least at the supermarket) It has the ability to scan any food at a supermarket and display useful information about the product catered to our preferences.
The second time I watched this video, I thought about about the most recent discussion I had with classmates, resulting in a general consensus that many people have become dangerously dependent on new forms of technology. We laughed as we exchanged stories of drivers who had placed full trust in onstar programs, willing to follow any direction given simply because they had become oblivious to their surroundings. The new technology developed by MIT, though exciting and a testament to our remarkable technological achievements, will only intensify our dependence on technology. However, for many, like the cheering audience in the video, new technology only enhances our understanding of the world as we know it. Furthermore, for them, the more technology is integrated into our daily routine, the better off we are.

The Impact of Skype

Though I have always been a fan of the many new sites that have sprung up across the Internet over the last couple years, up until a few months ago, no particular site had a profound or drastic effect on my life. Don’t get me wrong. I LOVE having a facebook! However, unlike some, I see facebook as merely a fun way to keep in touch with friends and pass the time, but nothing more. Recently I discovered a site which has impacted my life in a big way, and the lives of millions in the world. It has allowed one to maintain relationships on a level unparalleled

Image via Wikipedia

by anything else. I am talking about Skype.
When my first cousin Rob (more like an older brother to me) moved to Sapitwa, Africa to research a cure for malaria, I was certain that we would never be as close again. Though we kept in touch over facebook, our once unbreakable relationship was beginning to deteriorate. Words on a page simply weren’t strong enough to uphold our friendship. In fact, the only time a felt close to him again was after watching a video he had posted of himself with friends in Africa. Seeing him come alive on my computer screen was more meaninful than any of our wall to wall posts on facebook over the past couple months. Frustrated by this, I turned to Google for help, searching something along the lines of “how to maintain friendships with those overseas WITHOUT facebook.” A few links down I came across this. There I found a string of videos, each documenting the stories of those who had begun to use Skype to maintain and uphold relationships with friends and loved ones. I discovered that in a matter of minutes anyone with a computer with a video lens could sign up for Skype for free and talk to others via live video. Several hours later, Rob and I might as well have been in the same room. We were seeing and hearing one another for the first time in months, expressing how remarkable it was that we could be doing this for free!

Some may disagree, but I am a strong believer that without the ability to see one and hear ones voice during conversation, inevitably a friendship or relationship will begin to deteriorate. Skype has not only changed my life, renewing the friendship I was beginning to lose grip of with Rob, but has also revolutionized our understanding of long distance friendships and relationships. No physical distance can ever truly keep two people apart again with Skype.