What’s Next? - Beyond Social Media and Watson

We have learned that social media is a big deal, gaining massive international presence rapidly. And we’ve seen the dominance of an artificial intelligence system, defeating America’s finest Jeopardy! contestants. So what is next? Do we expect the nonprofit sector (and society) to remain much the same? Will Facebook remain relevant for decades, or will it be replaced by something more profound?

To get a glimpse of current technological developments, and to explain my demonstrated interest in technology, I suggest watching a few PBS programs. PBS, a nonprofit organization, has some excellent edutainment. In particular, Nova has provided wonderful programming for quite some time. No, I am not asking you to donate to public broadcasting, though future government funding is questionable. I recommend watching these recent Nova episodes:

‘NOVA – Making Things’ with New York Times columnist David Pogue, is a four-part series which focuses on the science of materials. I suggest watching the episode ‘Making Things: Smaller’ first. http://video.pbs.org/program/979359664/

The fifth season of ‘NOVA – Science Now’ with astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, is a six-part series in which each episode focuses on answering a question (a “big” question). http://video.pbs.org/program/979359667/

The full episodes are about 53 minutes each (click the ‘more full videos’ tab if you cannot find all of the referenced episodes). Quite long for some of us, but worth the time. Consider watching at least ‘Making Things: Smaller.’ I am sharing this post (like my others) as it includes relevant substance I wish to share. PBS agrees and “viewers like you” directly (and the rest of us indirectly through the government) fund the organization. Go ahead and observe the fruits of your contributions. As stakeholders, it is in our interest in more than one way.