The Future of Communication TechnologyBrison AllmonComm 303

A Day In The Life• Mariah woke up one morning with a sore throat.

She took her temperature and saw that she had a fever of 101.2 F. She wondered if she should see the doctor, but she really didn’t feel like driving to his office in all of the snow.

• Luckily, she had an app for that. “Doctor on Demand” allowed her to have a consultation for up to 15 minutes with a doctor via video chat. She found out that she had strep throat. The doctor emailed a prescription to her pharmacy, who then assured her that the medication would be delivered in a couple of hours.

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•mHealth (or mobile health) is a term used for the practice of medicine and public health, supported by mobile devices.

•In the next ten years over 50% of smartphone users will have downloaded mobile health apps

•More than 25% of physicians are using mobile technology in patient care.

•93% of physicians believe that mobile health apps can improve patient health.

Statistics according to www.greatcall.com

Roger’s Diffusion of Innovations

• An innovations is an idea, behavior, or object that is perceived as new by its audience.

• People adopt an innovation if they feel it will add positively to their lives.

• A person goes through a process deciding whether the innovation is right for them.

• After taking her medicine, Mariah decided to watch T.V. She went into the living room and commanded the T.V. to turn on. A thin digital screen appeared on the wall. Using voice commands, Mariah searched for and selected a program from thousands of options. This was nothing like the television experience of her childhood.

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•All televisions will be internet ready. They will be touch screens and have apps like a smartphone or tablet.

•RD3D or retinal display 3D will be just like looking out a window. No 3D glasses needed!

The Principle of Relative Constancy

• People spend a constant fraction of their disposable income on mass media over time.

• People alter spending on mass media categories when new products/services are introduced.

• The new technology has to offer something more for the user to give up something else.

• Later that evening Mariah decided she wanted some chicken noodle soup, but didn’t have any at home. She started her car and touched the navigation app on the touch screen. Once the route was set she used the Pandora app to listen to her favorite music on the way there.

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•Most new cars will be rolling Wi-Fi hot spots either through tethering or a data plan.

•The internet will be tailored for in-car use by using voice recognition software to control apps.

•Kids can watch streamed content to players in the back seats. Adults can use Pandora or keep up with Twitter.

•A car that is connected can communicate with other vehicles and also receive important safety information.

Uses and Gratifications Theory• Users actively seek to use different media to

fulfill different needs.• A medium will be used more when the existing

motives to use the medium leads to more satisfaction.

Sources• Barry , K. (2010, April). The future of in-car technology.

Retrieved from http://www.caranddriver.com/features/the-future-of-in-car-technology

• D'Onfro, J. (2013, December 10). There's a new app that will let you have a real doctor's appointment using video chat on your smartphone. Retrieved from http://www.businessinsider.com/doctors-on-demand-medical-app-2013-12

• Is mobile healthcare the future?. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.greatcall.com/lp/is-mobile-healthcare-the-future-infographic.aspx

• Meadows, J. (2012). Understanding communication technologies. In A. Grant & J. Meadows (Eds.),Communication technology update and fundamentals (13 ed.). Waltham, MA: Focal Press.