I Tweet the Future
Posted by: Susan Jane Bigelow on: February 22, 2011
- In: Broken | Geek Stuff
- 2 Comments
One thing I’ve been wondering about lately is why we’re not seeing the huge level of online social media interaction that we have now crop up much in science fiction (unless it’s the STERN WARNING OF THINGS TO COME brand of science fiction). I think part of it is that the tech is so (relatively) new that authors aren’t sure how to incorporate it into existing worlds, and no one’s sure how pervasive this stuff will be in a few years.
I’m struggling with it, too. There isn’t any in BROKEN, except for passing references to people not using the internet because it’s basically bugged and unsafe for our characters.
And yet, I have to think that in a century, people will likely still be using social media of one sort or another. But what will it look like? A single service? Will there be FutureTwitter where people can send all kinds of quick easy messages all over the place? Will it be text-based? Video? Emotional? Smell-o-vision? Will people have devices that resemble all-in-one gadgets like the iPhone? If they don’t have this stuff, why?
I don’t have answers just yet, but I’m thinking about it.
The Extrahuman Union 
February 28, 2011 at 12:10 pm
Have you read FEED? If not, I highly recommend it, particularly for you – it deals with political blogging in a post-zombiepocalypse world, and it does get into a bit of the social media thing.
I’d really like to read some sci-fi that deals with how interconnected and social the online environment has become, and with how close-yet-distant relationships are becoming as a result. Seems it’d be a fascinating element to incorporate into a near-future world. Or even a distant-future one, dealing with the results of all this social networking we’ve got going on today. I think YARN may do a little of that, but as I haven’t actually managed to read it yet, I don’t know for sure.
That said, I’m reading a manuscript right now that incorporates blogging and IM as a major structural component. Loving that method of incorporating social networking.
February 28, 2011 at 12:28 pm
Based on what I’ve been told about FEED, it would be way too dark and sad for me. And yes, I know, I write dark and sad, but this one sounds like something I wouldn’t like as much! However, the political aspects of it sound fascinating…
I recently saw a book in a bookstore that was composed of nothing but email sent back and forth among the characters. I liked that, but what you have sounds even more fun.