A History of the Future: Hope & Fear in the Social Smartphone Era | Rory Cellan-Jones

Hidden Forces

Demetri Kofinas

Business, Government

4.8 • 1.6K Ratings

🗓️ 9 August 2021

⏱️ 41 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In Episode 202 of Hidden Forces, Demetri Kofinas speaks with veteran BBC technology correspondent Rory Cellan-Jones about the biggest developments and news stories in tech from the dot-com bubble of the late 1990s to the rise of Google and Facebook. These stories and more are included in Rory's new book "Always On," which chronicles the rise of the smartphone era and how technology has altered our customs, expectations, and lives in ways that are easy to forget only fifteen years since the launch of the first iPhone.

This is a conversation unlike most any other that you will have heard on this podcast, because there isn't any one particular lesson that you are meant to take away from it. Instead, we want you to use it as an opportunity to reflect on just how much change we've seen in our lives over the last fifteen years and think about not only the causes of that change, but how different the world will be over the next fifteen if current trends continue and what that's going to mean for our lives, for our businesses, and for our political systems.

In the overtime, Rory shares his impressions of Silicon Valley culture and what he's learned from interviewing some of the most powerful people in tech. Demetri and Rory also discuss the transformation of media, cultural differences between British and American journalists and the press, and the future of independent publishing and podcasting and what it means for the viability of traditional news outlets, especially those that depend evermore on sensationalism and controversy in order eke out a profit in this hyper-competitive media landscape.

You can access the episode overtime, as well as the transcript and rundown to this week's episode through the Hidden Forces Patreon Page. All subscribers gain access to our overtime feed, which can be easily added to your favorite podcast application.

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Producer & Host: Demetri Kofinas

Editor & Engineer: Stylianos Nicolaou

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Episode Recorded on 07/20/2021

Transcript

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0:00.0	What's up, everybody? My name is Demetrick Afinas, and you're listening to Hidden Forces,
0:26.8	a podcast that inspires investors, entrepreneurs, and everyday citizens to challenge consensus narratives,
0:34.2	and to learn how to think critically about the systems of power shaping our world.
0:39.3	My guest in this week's episode is Rory Kethlyn Jones. Rory is the BBC's principal technology
0:45.1	correspondent, which means that he's responsible for reporting on the biggest developments
0:49.4	in news stories in tech. From the .com bubble of late 1990s to the rise of Google and Facebook,
0:55.8	he's covered it all and interviewed some of the most influential tech luminaries and entrepreneurs
1:01.3	from Steve Jobs to Mark Zuckerberg to Elon Musk. Stories from these interviews and more are part
1:07.7	of his new book titled Always On, that chronicles the rise of the smartphone era, and how technology
1:13.9	has altered our customs, our expectations, and our very lives in ways that are easy to forget
1:20.4	only 15 years since the launch of the first iPhone. This is a conversation unlike most any other
1:27.1	that you will have heard on this podcast, because there isn't one particular lesson that I want you
1:32.2	to take away from it. Instead, I want you to use it as an opportunity to reflect on just how much
1:38.6	change we've seen in our lives over the last 15 years, and think about not only the causes of that
1:45.1	but how different the world will be over the next 15 if current trends continue, and what that's
1:50.6	going to mean for our lives, for our businesses, and for our political systems. In the over time,
1:56.9	Rory shares his impressions of Silicon Valley culture, and what he's learned from interviewing
2:01.7	some of the most powerful people in tech. We also discuss the transformation of media, cultural
2:07.4	differences between British and American journalists, and the press, and the future of independent
2:12.8	publishing and podcasting, and what it means for the viability of traditional news outlets,
2:18.6	especially those that depend on ever more sensationalism and controversy in order to
2:24.4	eke out a profit in this hyper competitive media landscape. So without any further ado, please
	...

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