New Brain Control Toys and Limits on Virtual Currency

There's a day in my Public Relations classes that I call "New Technologies" day. It's where we discuss some new technologies that will affect the field of PR and communications. Lately, we've discussed CNN's i-report, brain wave movement devices, reality overlay, CNN's hologram, social media updates, and Second Life....to name a few. I always tell my students "by the end of class today, you will be shocked at what's out there." And, by the end of class, most are.

So, it's nice to see articles that will likely add to the information discussed in these class sessions.

Here's one on the New Force Toy which allows users to move things by concentrating. When I talk about this technology in class, I discuss a PBS series of specials I saw where monkeys were being trained to play simple videos games and move robotics using only their minds. Well, looks like human trials for toys have been completed.

And here's one on China limiting the transaction of virtual currency. I am actually surprised World of Warcraft is mentioned, but Second Life is not. Maybe the Chinese economy is threatened more by WoW than SL. I remember when I would show my students that you could sell Linden Dollars for American dollars on Ebay...that came to an end earlier this year. Cool to see Professor Edward Castronova mentioned in the article...from one of my Indiana University my Alma Mater departments.

These types of advances will drastically change communications in the not-so-distant future.