The Shallow Outlook on the Future by Mashable’s @petecashmore
December 26, 2011 
44 Comments
It’s probably just me. I probably expect too much when I see someone as highly regarded as Mr. Pete Cashmore -of Mashable fame- to enlighten us with his insight into the future of technology.
Do you mean to tell me that things will get thinner in 2012? And I will be able to “touch” my devices? Whoa…my iPad will be so jealous.
If you tell me things will get shinier, I just might tinkle a little in my underwears.
For Pete’s Sake
What Mr. Cashmore is choosing to ignore is the large, sweeping, undercurrent that is fundamentally changing the innards of our society.
Sure, technology is aiding the change, but technology is but a Roomba. A mindless drone at the hands of those who use it.
The real change that will be shaping 2012 is driven by the people who use the technology. And these people will change EVERYTHING!
The Power Law No More
The attention (used to) focus at the top.
Name any industry and you will find that top players –often by sheer dumb luck, law of numbers and immaculate timing- receive all of the spoils.
- For every Tom Cruz there are thousands of starving actors who are just as good looking and just as talented, but only Tom gets $40 million per picture.
- For every Wallmart, there are millions of small businesses that deliver better products and better service, but only Wallmart gets to reel-in record profits.
- For every Pete Cashmore, there are millions of other people who are more insightful and better prepared, but only Pete Cashmore gets to be written up on Mashable. I smell a fix up :-p
The technology of 2012, my dear Pete, will change the distribution of power.
Brand Production
Remember when we used to make things?
Nowadays, the largest companies of the world are hallow. They produce nothing. Your Wallmarts, your Hilfigers , your Proctors and Gambles, and the list goes on. There is no substance, only a shiny wrapper we call Branding.
All production has been outsourced to an area where labor-rights are deregulated. I’m looking at you, Martha.
Even our governments are outsourcing core services to contractors. After all, when Blackwater (now re-Branded as Xe Services) does something wrong, it’s not the government’s fault. But we’ll be sure to review the contract and make adjustments.
Talk about limp-dicked way of doing business. No thanks.
The sweeping undercurrents are fed up with this kind of bullshit, and are using technology to organize.
There’s a revolution outside your office window and answering your boss’s email is really not that important right now. And whether you do it by “touch” or by “mind bullets” is really irrelevant, my dear Pete.
Occupy Everywhere
Occupy Wall Street movement is only a recent expression of those who sense there is something fundamentally fucked up.
The 1 percenters -whether corporate, entertainment, or social media- are going to have the attention for a little while longer, but it wont be the kind of attention you want.
The rest of us are starting to pay attention to one another. We’re talking to each other and we’re finding that we’re better off without you.
We are finding out that the 1 percenters are interested in one thing, and one thing only. Staying on top. But more importantly, they care about staying above us, at all cost. Even at the cost of human dignity.
You’ve noticed this as well, Mr. Cashmore. No? You’ve noticed the drop off in traffic that caused you to resort to HTML trickery. (Refresh my page every 20 seconds, why don’t you? Advertisers wont know the difference).
Top Down No. Bottom Up
The “BIG” thing in future-tech are the “news aggregators”??? Do we really need more ways to gather information?
According to Mr. Mashable, yes, we do. But guess who’s “feeding” us this information? Thats right. Mashable is.
What we really need are ways to distribute OUR information. Bottom up, NOT top down. Lateral newsfeed. Not forced-feed from on high. Publisher We the People. Not YOU, the Mashables of the world.
The Law of Many Starts Now
The trend in technology for 2012 is to enable the rest of us to ignore big Brands. Whether of the corporate kind, entertainment kind or Social Media kind. That’s just what happens when revolutionaries learn how to code.
But I get why you’d want to stick your head in the sand and talk about “touching” your tablet instead.
But who knows…maybe your audience was made up of Encino men, in which case, great job bringing them up to speed on what’s been happening for the last 50 years.
