Abstract

SANTAELLA, LUCIA. Current Affairs and Future Trends in Technoculture. Signo pensam. [online]. 2012, vol.31, n.60, pp.30-43. ISSN 0120-4823.

We often remember the last quarter of the 20th century as a period of unprecedented changes in terms of the extent, purpose and pace of historical transformation. Thus, the only certainty we have about the future is that it will be very different from our present and that it will run faster than ever. The reason behind all of this is technological revolution, an idea that has become commonplace in the so-called technoculture era. In fact, the transformation speed experienced by technological means of language and communication production is impressive. Since the invention of photography, we have already achieved the 5th generation of communication technologies. This paper aims at introducing briefly the five technological generations we know so far: replay and webcasting technologies, both made possible by the electric-electronic revolution; the make-available technologies that characterize media culture; access technologies developed from the digital revolution; and more recently, the permanent connection technologies made possible by mobile devices. After discussing these and the way they are combined today, the article goes on to discuss main research lines in digital media.

Keywords : Communication technologies; terabytes; cloud computing; Web 3.0; Information and communications technologies; Online social networks; Communication and technology.

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