APOC 2010

WELCOME WELCOME – This week was my first week in the Master’s program. Although I have taken many classes, exams and certification courses, starting a new program can be daunting.  Overall it was a great week. I think the director is smart, well connected and the co-director equally so. I really believe you have to take a look at the leaders and genuinely like them to know if a program or job is going to be successful.

Karen North, the director of the APOC program, and Clinton Schaff, co-director, are excellent role models for us. The best part is it seems that we are a close knit group and this will prove useful in the days, months and years to come. GO TEAM APOC 2010!

Our first speaker was the legendary Jeffrey Cole. It is a name I have heard in passing and until now haven’t really connected the dots. Interestingly his lecture was both historical, with prediction and full current events. The discussion moved towards what he thought the future of TV would be.  These are ideas and notions I have heard before from other digital scholars (most probably got these notions from him). The question that I was wanting to ask but we ran out of time is what is the difference between the WEB and TV? Most users get TV through cable (for example) and their internet travels down the same path. So essentially, what is the difference? TV has programming and schedules but most TV services now include an ON DEMAND feature. We watch videos on our computers in an ON DEMAND way.  Are we really that far from having one integrated system? Maybe abandoning TV as we know it?

Only a few years ago WEBtv (I believe that was the name) showed up in the market place and I believe the goal was to start this integration process.  I don’t think the market was ready for this concept but I believe we are not far from seeing a change in how we conceptualize the TV. As of right now the same content is available on both TV and the Internet.  TV – surfing – video – music – social media – these will all be reconstituted in a new easier to use experience. All I know is that I want one now!