The Future of reading

Digital Versus Print

This is the first in a series of articles that will look at how the Internet and other technological and social forces are changing the way people read.

Useful reference sites

Laura Milligan at Teaching Tips.com offers an assortment of "100 unbelievably useful reference sites."

Google tips

If you'd like to try some variations on the display of your Google search results, try appending view:info to your search string (view:map, view:timeline, and view:list are other options). Notice that when you use one of these options, the others appear as menu items at the top of the page...and you're also invited to peruse the Google experiments overview.

EveryScape

One limitation of Google Maps streetview that really annoys me is that you can see people's houses, but not inside them. For example, here is the house a friend of mine grew up in during the 60s and 70s. I have no idea who lives there now, but from the outside, the house doesn't look much different from when he lived there.  I'm not a snoop, but it's seeing the interior of the house and, if possible, unobtrusively observing the current residents in their natural habitat, that interests me.  Help may be on the way with EveryScape, which describes itself so: EveryScape isn't an online world, it's the world online. EveryScape takes you from the streets to the sidewalks and through the doors of the world's cities and towns. Letting businesses organizations and consumers build and share their world the way they see it.

But,  building the world is a BIG job!  EveryScape admits that, and wants your assistance; you can help out as a Scape Artist:

Do you want to drive the streets with EveryScape's special roof-mounted camera? Photograph the inside of your favorite shop or restaurant? Give us the scoop on a local business? Or just make sure that your community and your world is represented the way it should be? Then join our team and become a Scape Artist, and help us create something that means something. Help us change the way people see the world.

Or, if you fancy something less grungy than driving the streets as a ScapeArtist with special roof-mounted camera, they can offer ambassdorships: two kinds, Destination Ambassadors and Local Business Ambassadors


Most of EveryScape's world is currently located in the U.S, and I couldn't find any residential homes to scope out ..not yet, but I bet that's only a few years away.  I did go to Poland though, to see the gorgeous St. Mary's Basilica in Krakow.

This is definitely the future though: see the world from the comfort of your own home! And in a bit, the world can visit you too, also in the comfort of your own home.