Hello, I am looking to find out more information on the future of
searching for digital media (not just information) on-line. What
products are on the market, technology is being developed, current
research is available, and what resources/companies are working on
this? How will people find digital music, books, film, TV episodes,
games, magazine content effectively on-line in the future? How will
this change the power of large media companies and the behaviour of
consumers (e.g. the overall value chain of digital media)? For
example, Google's upcoming Print product that will index books in the
search results or Amazon's A9 Search inside the book show some change
in how consumers will find books online are some examples of such
changes. What are other examples and developments and what will their
impact be? |
Request for Question Clarification by
pafalafa-ga
on
03 Sep 2004 19:38 PDT
Hello tiffanona-ga,
You've asked an interesting question, and it would be fascinating to
provide an answer by speculating about the future. But it would be
just that...Speculation!
I've given a lot of thought to searching (in the present and future
tense) so I could certainly offer up a list of drivers and roadblocks,
and possible visions of searching in the next decade or so.
But are you looking for one person's personal reflections? Or did you
want something more academic.
The things that strike me as important -- right off the top of my head -- are:
--consolidation: now it's web-text + news + usenet, but a lot more
searchable is out there, and (like the books at Amazon).
--legalities: copyright is a big roadblock to getting information front and center
--education: A generation is being raised for whom a Google search is
as natural as flicking on the TV.
--corporate control: who will be the Big Boys of information flow,
and what will it mean re:access to free info?
--monetization: how will folks make money off internet searching, and
what will be the impact of those trends?
--AI: Will searching software get smarter? Who knows?
--Geography. The trend towards locality searching will certainly grow
more robust.
--Privacy: Is the government learning too much? Is my neighbor? Is
my PC's content showing up in Google searches? How do I get myself
"unlisted" from the WWW.
These are the sorts of things I could speculate on -- mostly from my
own head, but with an occasional reference to documents on the
internet.
Is this what you're after...?
Let me know, please.
pafalafa-ga
|
Clarification of Question by
tiffanona-ga
on
06 Sep 2004 01:54 PDT
Hello pafalafa-ga,
Thank you for your comments. Speculation is interesting, however, I
am looking for some solid developments in business, academia or the
user community - specific projects/developments such as the Google
Print or Amazon Search inside the book developments for instance.
Right now, much of search is focused on information, some news, etc..
Google is working even on answers, quotes, and other items (again
information). I am truly looking for new ways to search for(and
perhaps obtain) music, films, TV, etc. Right now, one must go to
specific sites that is limited e.g. Apple iTunes or try a general
"dumb" key word search in a search machine. I hope that helps.
|
