A good friend sent me an article this week that was written by Eric Schmidt, who is Google's CEO. His comment was that this article read just like the beginning of chapter 9 from the book Virtual Integrity. You decide if my friend is right.
The article is entitled: How Google Can Help Newspapers Here's an excerpt:
"It's the year 2015. The compact device in my hand delivers me the world, one news story at a time. I flip through my favorite papers and magazines, the images as crisp as in print, without a maddening wait for each page to load.
Even better, the device knows who I am, what I like, and what I have already read. So while I get all the news and comment, I also see stories tailored for my interests. I zip through a health story in The Wall Street Journal and a piece about Iraq from Egypt's Al Gomhuria, translated automatically from Arabic to English. I tap my finger on the screen, telling the computer brains underneath it got this suggestion right."
Of course, there are differences. Schmidt's scene is in 2015 not 2012 as in the book. He is looking for content on a device reader, while I am personalizing my visit at a hotel. Still the basic ideas are the same. Eric Schmidt wants us to be able to surf our values, as described in chapters 9 & 10. He uses different words, but the direction is clear.
What are your thoughts?