Before we headed off for the holidays I asked the newsroom staff at Turnstyle and Youth Radio to send me their predictions for 2013. I’ll be sharing mine on the 31st. Enjoy!
Image Credit: Creative Commons photo by Matthew Kirkland.
Kurt Collins | Tech Strategist/Lead Developer, Youth Radio
The Comeback of MySpace
I never thought I would hear the following words come out of my mouth, but here it is: MySpace will begin making a comeback. As many of you may (or may not) know, the new MySpace is slated to launch this coming year. Ever since Justin Timberlake and the Vanderhooks (Chris and Tim) purchased the flailing social network this past summer, everyone has been waiting with baited breath to see what will happen.
The new stated purpose of MySpace is to connect fans to members of the creative community through a social network. So far, throughout my private beta testing, I’m impressed. Their editorial is solid and the music is fresh. There’s something there.
Unfortunately, as much as I believe in the potential comeback of MySpace, I also lament the fact that they’re not going to go far enough. There is an opportunity now in the music industry to experiment with new business models. In the era of Kickstarter and Indiegogo, it’s sad that the music industry is still embracing 360º deals. What would happen if MySpace decided to put in place a crowd-funding model for musicians based around the social network? What if MySpace formed partnerships with studios around the country to allow the most popular indie musicians a place to record their music once hitting certain milestones? What if…
But it won’t. Either way, the comeback will begin!
Death of Blackberry
This isn’t so much a prediction as a foregone conclusion at this point. We have all been looking on with schadenfreude at the debacle that Research In Motion has become. It’s gotten to the point where the tech industry, the press, and the financial markets all agree on the same thing: it’s time to put Old Yeller out of his misery.
Everyone is waiting. And upon the release of Blackberry 10 in early 2013 we will all hear the mewling cries of the former king of smartphones as death takes it. Maybe a white knight will save it? But is there anything worth buying at RIM?
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Ike Sriskandarajah | Science Producer, Youth Radio
The precautionary tale/ action film, Escape from L.A., was released in 1996 but is set… in the year 2013. That year is now! While everyone is stressing the Mayan calendar, we’ve missed the cues on the Chinese calendar: 2013 is the year of the Snake. Why is that significant? Well what the lame-stream media isn’t going to tell you: “Snake” is the name of Kurt Russel’s character in Escape from L.A.! So watch out Turnstyle readers, my 2013 prediction (and director John Carpenter’s) is that this year, you may need to “plan your escape.” I also predict a new Kurt Russell movie.
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Lissa Soep | Senior Producer & Research Director, Youth Radio
First there was the era of the over-involved/over-engaged helicopter-style parent, obsessed with getting things exactly right and rearing the perfect off-spring. Then, perhaps in reaction, we saw the onslaught of “bad mommy” lit and sordid stories of how awesome it is to throw back a couple shots while your kid naps and other tales of parents unapologetically relishing (and I’m pretty sure, sensationalizing) their own rebel instincts. I’m predicting that next, we’re heading towards an era of meh parenting. Mothers and fathers making judgments about doing just enough to get the job done, without over-performing or totally bailing on the job. Not sure if this falls within the category of the creative economy, except that parenting is undeniably a form of unpaid labor that requires every ounce of imagination a person can muster.
