The irony behind "Flutter" is immediately apparent even though one does not yet realize the site is fictitious. The very idea that, ". . . no one has enough time to tweet", is humorous and obviously not true: twitter was designed for fast paced users to quickly input a short status. Flutter was created by a group of people that found the very idea of twitter quite funny and decided to create their own, more exaggerated version. One lady even plans on starting another site called "shttr" that takes "micro-blogging" to the next level by allowing micro-diodes to send the status reports directly to the user's brain.
I believe the idea of a "shttr" is ultimately what the creators of this video were approaching. Where does it stop; how far does it go? Will a form of this diode-to-brain communication appear somewhere in the future? It scares and excites me to think of the potential that technology can reach. This idea also reminds me of the movie "Surrogates" in which humans control robot-representations of themselves. And although we may find the concept of surrogates and "shttr" quite unrealistic, who knows what our great-great-grandchildren while think?
I think you're spot on with idea of "Shttr," and I'm glad you brought this up because I didn't even think of the ultimate goal that you mentioned. Thinking about it, it is quite scary how much of our lives we allow to be vulnerable to the internet. With facebook, twitter, myspace, and more we can literally update our every move 24/7. So the question really is, what next? Facebook users know that there is a site update every couple months, Apple just released the ipad, it only makes sense nano-blogging will introduce a new way to update the world. Perhaps the idea of "Shttr" is closer than we think??
ReplyDeleteIt's refreshing to see a blog entry that talks a little more about "shttr", and how it could have been the main focus of the video. The concept of microblogging does seem ridiculous to some people that don't use Twitter, but then imagining nano-blogging and beyond ("shttr") is just absurd. Using the example of the movie "Surrogates" is a good lead into the whole future deal. It really is impossible to visualize what our society will look like in 10 or 15 years, let alone a century from now. Maybe this whole pico-blogging thing will catch on.
ReplyDeleteI also agree that the video’s argument that “no one has the time to tweet” is absurd. I like how you mentioned that it is uncertain what future generations might think of the concept of flutter. It’s hard to believe right now that flutter will be used in the future, but it might eventually be the dominant form of communication. I am also scared about what the future may hold for communication. I know I don’t want anything implanted in my brain.
ReplyDeleteI like that you broadened the scope of your discussion as you went on. It is good to put the video and argument in perspective....where WILL our children be in 50, 60, or 70 years. What wars will have been fought? Tragedies faced?
ReplyDeleteIt was also interesting to see how you brought 'Shddr" into your discussion. It was refreshing to have a different aspect of the video explored!
In response to your idea on Shttr, I really agree that the extent to which users want to make their online experience shorter and responses more succinct. The premise that society will eventually want to move to an ideal like "Shttr" is a criticism on what society desires. Eventually, people will want to shorten their updates so much, the messages relayed will be almost impossibly to comprehend. For instance, the idea of "shttr" could mean a larve variety of things because of the missing vowels.
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