The year is 2036 and media content has exploded in a 5G wireless world. I insert a memory chip into your right index finger that connects along the median nerve to my brain’s neocortex.
Augmented Reality in MobileI peruse the ancient writings of a blogger, writing about media content in 2010. I become fascinated with the story as it unfolds in the three dimensions of my brain…
A Blogger’s Thoughts on Media Content
Here’s what the blogger wrote:
“There’s a price war underway among Apple, Amazon, Hulu, Netflix, Comcast, Directv and other media content providers. And it’s growing fierce.
“I wrote a piece on consumers’ insatiable demand for streaming video and audio and why media content providers are battling each other for a bigger slice of an ever-growing pie (or pizza, if you like). But whether you’re into pies or pizzas, the analogy is valid: both mobile and non-mobile folks are hungry, even ravenous for multimedia, especially video.
Flashback to Color Television Media Content
“Did you know the first patent for color television was issued to a German in 1904 and another in 1925? Then it took another 28 years until RCA in 1953 received permission from the FCC to broadcast in color.
“CBS also started color broadcasts. But, unlike today’s mobile carriers, whose 3G networks gasp for bandwidth, color television broadcasting in the 50’s caused black and white TV reception problems. As a result, RCA sued CBS, refined the receiving sets and, in 1954, began selling color TV’s that worked.
Media Content Channels Grow
“Flash forward 53 years to Internet broadband, fast microprocessors, 27” computer displays, 72′ HD TV panels and smartphones. Not only has video quality vastly improved, but the media content pie gets sliced into smaller pieces as cable TV, broadcasting, the Internet, wireless and other communication channels compete.
Premium Media Content Explodes
“Premium content, a buzz phrase created by media content producers, distributors and marketers persuade you to pay more to view multimedia on your Samsung Amoled smartphone. After all, it’s “premium content”–not regular content. It’s worth more, yes? And it’s only 99 cents…or $1.99…or perhaps more to watch special events. Surely, you have no problem with paying more because you’re getting more. The content is not a five-minute YouTube movie trailer. Come on, this is PREMIUM content, like something you’d view at a theater for $12.”
Back to my 5G Wireless World
I remove the memory chip from my forefinger, think about the blogger’s world 26 years earlier, laugh and toss the chip aside. So much has changed. Media content is no longer a singular activity but a co-creation with many minds across the globe. I share my thoughts about the blogger with 100 friends–simultaneously– around the planet. They chuckle too. “People really thought that way,” they ask? “They watched things on screens,” another asked? “Yes,” I reply,” but then they didn’t live in a 5G wireless world.”
Wearing my artificial reality contacts, I strut out the door into a world created by my own mind.
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