Beyond the final frontier

I just read an interesting article on social networking, calling people born since 1980 the “digital natives”, grown up with an increasing use of technology, computing and digital networking. Even though born two years earlier, I would count myself into that generation, because technology and interactive media fascinated me as long as I can remember. But I would through up another term for our generation: “digital pioneers”, since we did not really grew up in a technologized world, but helped bringing it to a point where one can use the web the way you can use it now. Many of the bright heads who brought up todays web-technologies where inspired by the same vision and the possibilities offered by all the new technologies back in the days. I am absolutely sure that one of the main reasons for DSL is that everybody was p*ssed off by using 33k modems for their massive mediasharing needs… some might call it piracy, I would rather call it, pushing social evolution. And I still buy the music/movies/games I like.

“Digital natives” is more appropriate for everyone born since 1990. To the end of the nineties the web has found it’s way into many homes and became an integral part of modern live, evolving to a point that finally takes the web out of the homes, away from stationary connections, into the world. Now a new aera begins: The aera of the “outernet”, the logical next step for the generation to come after the first genration of “digital natives”. I am really curious where this is going to go. Welcome to the future and many thanks to the likes of Philip K. Dick and William Gibson for sharing their vision and inspiring our present with theis future.