The NYT's Richard Siklos asked readers about their predictions for major developments in the world of media for 2007. He reports back.
For those who toil in the big media businesses, the word “media” itself refers to the big information industries — publishing, broadcasting, music, etc. — but some readers chose a refreshingly McLuhan-esque definition, in which a new media technology could be a pencil or a paper clip or just about anything else.
To wit, Pat Noble of Erie, Pa., predicted that “wristwatches are on their way out” because more people are using cellphones as timepieces. Nick Koscis, a writer from St. Catharines, Ontario, said he looked forward to “the year of the fast-food franchises converting to nutritionally correct dining,” adding: “Being major advertisers on media, I include them in the mix.”
And there were a couple of brief, curious outliers that, for all we know, are prescient:
“Night-vision technology will be adapted to cellphones so photos can be taken directly through people’s clothing,” wrote William Topp of Otisville, N.Y.
One that arrived without a name said that 2007 would “be the year of the child film auteur.” And one more said that it would be “the year of the mobile personal headset display.” ...
There were also some more mainstream contributions, like whether Google's run will lose steam or whether online content companies will push for subscription-based revenue again after the advertising-only revenue model loses its charms. And there was this:
Fred Bothwell of Georgetown, Tex., ... predicted the “continuing diminished significance of profit-based mainstream media as information sources.” They will wither, he predicted, as more people turn to Web-based purpose-driven services like Craigslist that are not looking to maximize profits, but to make the world a smiley place.
The whole article is worth a read.