Page 39 - AC/E Digital Culture Annual Report 2014

AC/E digital culture ANNUAL REPORT 2014THEME 4Culture in the cloudby Isabel Fernández Peñuelas http://netfictions.wordpress.com/author/indiaman/Let’s begin at the end, anticipating in an idea where this article is gong to end: the future of the Web, or the Web of the future, can be glimpsed today in the so‐called Internet of Things (IoT).Internet technology has become much more tangible, it is beginning to infiltrate every space, and for several years it has been slipping in through the cracks in our houses, it is adhering to our bodies and soon it will adhere to our minds.The time is still some way off when sensors embedded in our brains send signals to the pianist in the room about the emotional effect his art is having on the public who are listening, or so that the pedals of his piano are adjusted automatically to set different rhythms, the result of ultra‐fast decisions based on the real‐time analysis of the mountains of data received from the brains of other audiences in other countries and at other times, but in fact the questions we should be asking ourselves are: How long will it be? What will pianists of the future be like? Will they study solfa or mathematics?According to mobile Internet analysts, 2013 was the year of responsive design and the boom of wearable devices, that is, ones you wear on your wrist, on your head or even in your skin, and which connect you and let you interact with other things, always using Internet technology to achieve this.A highly relevant datum from the latest study byGoogle Research on consumption at Christmas 2013–2014 is that searches for the term wearable underwent a 100% increase since January theAC/Eprevious year, particularly on the West Coast of the United States and the technology Meccas of New York and California.But before describing these technologies, it is worth examining the concept of augmented reality, since many of the new mobile devices use it. “Wearables” are part of a broader equation that is already having a great impact on industries in the cultural sector and will probably have much more.AUGMENTED REALITY, MIXED REALITYAugmented reality (AR) technologies are a key factor in the success of wearables. But what do they consist of? Of the many definitions, I like the one that described AR as “an improved view of the real world”. But watch out! Augmented reality must not be confused with virtual reality.Virtual reality creates worlds that are completely different from the real one and its maximum exponent was Second Life. Although this platform aroused great expectations, even possible benefits for companies and institutions, the fact is that so far it has demonstrated its applicability to gaming, the film industry and leisure, with the failure of many of the business ventures that set out to exploit it. It may be recalled that at one time banks, shops and embassies set out to create their own spaces, but the fact is that at the moment it has not met expectations.WHERE WE ARE HEADING: DIGITAL TRENDS IN THE WORLD OF CULTURETHEME 4: CULTURE IN THE CLOUD CURRENT PAGE...39