The Big "Switch-Over"

Since analogue television relied heavily on magnetic signals, electronic waves and chemical changes, some would say analogue is a thing of the past. With the creation of digital television, which is simply a series of 0s and 1s placed into a specific format that can be easily transcribed by microchips, television production became much faster, cheaper, and easier. Everyone probably remembers when the United States make a big hoopla about the big "switch-over" from analogue to digital. Most countries have already replaced all analogue televisions with digital, except the UK; they plan to make the big "switch" this year.

So aside from being cheaper and faster, why is digital better? Well, let's start with the ratios. Analogue ratios were 4:3, whereas digital ratios are 16:9; this allows for less boxy television viewing. Basically, you can now watch your favorite movie at home without each side being cropped by a few inches.

But let's backtrack even further and take a look at how television works. Typically, the United States used a 525-line picture and each line was scanned from top to bottom starting with odd numbered lines first (1,3,5 and so on), then back to the top to get those even numbered lines. But the digital world of television has many different terms. For instance, 1280 x 720 (in terms of pixels in scan mode) is shortened to 720p; 1920 x 1080 is shortened to 1080i (or 1080p depending on what scanning mode). Even though it sounds more complicated, digital television is better because the screen is easier to view and the amount of "noise" interference is limited.



When the public caught wind of the digital television wave, they were sold. There are many different ways of viewing digital t.v. such as through satellite, cable, Internet, and DVD. With so many choices, people couldn't help but be forced to use digital.

Digital television became much more convenient for viewers when systems like DVR and TiVo came out. These boxes allow the user to pre-record their shows and watch them later. So for instance, if you are out a a company dinner and your favorite show comes on at 8 p.m., you no longer have to purchase a blank tape and set the VCR to record. You just set up your shows on the DVR systems with a click of a button and it does the work for you.

Having the capability to view shows online is also more convenient to the public. Some people do not have time to sit in front of a television set and watch programs, but are making time or prefer to sit in front of their computers. This allows viewers to catch their favorite sports programs, realitytv, or news on the go. This is becoming more of a fad for the younger generations as computer technology continues to grow.

Even more interesting is the new way of reporting the news. There are many news stations taking on this idea of the viewer reporting. CNN has the iReport and many local news stations urge people to call in, text, tweet, or upload breaking news or videos. The underlying question is does this make jobs easier for reporters or harder?

I look at this two-fold. A reporter should be reporting the news to the public; plain and simple. They should already know the breaking story because that is their job. However, given the many capabilities of technology, I believe that the public gets excited about the idea that they can send in home-made videos. The quality of what the public sends in is probably not as good as the edited news reel, but this idea still offers user interaction with their television.

One of the newer capabilities of television is Internet interaction, also known as SmartTvs. We see this with video games and televisions. Consumers have the option of purchasing a t.v. that has Internet. This allows people to browse the Internet and watch YouTube videos right on their t.v. These can get pricey ranging anywhere from $900 to $5,000.

With all these new options to choose from, one might wonder "what's next?"

Wiki Wiki Wikinomics

By now you've probably all heard of Wikipedia, but what about Wikinomics? Sure the names sound similar, but do they actually have anything in common? Well, yes. They both have the similar notion of a mass amount of people collaborating together. But how are they different?

Wikipedia is an online encyclopedia of sorts where people can contribute to adding knowledge of someone or something. Wikinomics is more of a term that describes the effects that this mass collaboration has on the corporate world and marketplace. Basically, if you've ever visited a website that has an online community or forum, you've seen the beginning stages of Wikinomics.

In the book Wikinomics: How Mass Collaboration Changes Everything, authors Don Tapscott and Anthony Williams want their readers to know that there are four principles behind the central concepts of wikinomics.

The first concept they describe is openness. This means having open standards and also allowing open content; but it also means being open to outside ideas and resources. The second concept on Tapscott's list is peering. Peering, a term they derived from Linux, is defined as voluntary interconnection of separate networks for the purpose of exchanging traffic between the customers of each network.
 

 The final two concepts go hand-in-hand. Sharing and acting globally. The sharing aspect not only means sharing information, but also sharing bandwidth and products. Acting globally means embracing outside cultures and ignoring the boundaries that would typically divide society, such as physical, geographical, individual and corporate levels.

According to Don Tapscott, Wikinomics is changing the way corporations operate. The term that many corporations are embracing is saving money by allowing these companies to find outside resources using the new Internet, Web 2.0. Wikinomics changes the way companies innovate new products and how they communicate with the world. Companies that use this theory, or practice, are becoming more successful.

According to Tapscott and Williams, this is the way of the future and companies that do not follow this practice will lag behind the rest of the world. They explain that Wikinomics is an exciting concept for individuals and small businesses because they can now contribute to the production of society and add more value to the large-scale economic system; whereas before, this would be nearly impossible.

I was able to find a ten minute video of author Don Tapscott discussing the basis behind Wikinomics and how it will change the future. I hope you enjoy this video as much as I did.