I think the first decade here has been all about us paying the piper for mistakes and indiscretions of the last decade or two.

-Worldwide terrorist attacks
-Terrible natural disasters, followed by (as in the case of Hurricane Katrina, botched reactions to them
-Economic collapse after years of irresponsible spending, borrowing, and lending
-Real estate and building industry collapse after years of inflating house prices and over-expansion of mini mansions and subdivisions.
-The reign of Britney Spears as a pop queen, after we clearly took real rockers for granted in the 1990s.

But I have hi-igh hopes for the next decade!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

-Better music
-People learning to live within their means and that luxury isn't everything
-The end of Oprah's show (oh wait, wish granted!)
-More jobs
-Better accountability in government
-Flying cars
-Okay, I'll settle for super fuel-efficient hybrid cars
-More knowledge and discovery

And I think we can do it, don't you??

Oh, and as for me? Yeah, wow my life has changed a lot in 10 years: Graduating from college, getting married, buying a house, having a baby, going through 2 major jobs and 3 career changes, learning how to sew, how to practice yoga, and how to garden. My life is MUCH more full and exciting than it used to be, and I can't wait to see what the NEXT 10 years bring!

Cheers!

http://www.brightbluecow.com/uploaded_images/2010glasses-768969.jpg

The first decade of the 21st century brought a lot of tragedy worldwide and personal low points.

While through the last 10 years I mourned with the world the events of 9/11, the wars in the middle east, the Tsunami, Hurricane Katrina, continuing hunger and poverty and the recession, I also dealt with a lot of personal "drama".

In 2000, I lost my business followed by a foreclosure and vehicle repossession. My daughter graduated high school in 2001 and my son decided school just "wasn't for him" in 2002. Starting over again is pretty tough for anyone but I've been making it work.

In the next 10 years I hope to see:

- a continuation of the frugality that seems to be gripping the US after years of overspending.
- continued efforts to reduce the United States' over-dependence on fossil fuels
- a more conscientious effort by more people in buying local - local foods, locally owned businesses
- tort reform as a common sense part of any health care reform

Through everything, the last 10 years brought a few of my dreams to fruition. When my kids were teens, I dreamed of traveling the country once they were on their own. It didn't happen exactly as I planned and turned out a little better. For 3 1/2 years I worked as an inventory auditor (then Operations Manager) for a seemingly small company. During that time I was blessed to see so much of the United States on someone else's dime!

I met my soulmate 4 1/2 years ago. We are a complete partnership and primarily self-employed - another dream! I've gotten paid to write!

I look to the future with hopeful eyes but live with no regrets!

The first decade of the 21st century, for many ,has been disastrous.
September 11th, Hurricane Katrina, Iraq War, the recession, etc.
However, there has been many advancements as well, i think that there's been more inventions and improvements made in the past decade than ever before.

As for the next decade, i hope that nothing gets worse, and eliminate many negative factors that have affected us in the last decade. Also, i hope to see even more of improvements in technology.

The first decade in the first 21st century will be a boom of the digital era. Apart from mobility, technology will definitely shape the way we communicate or interact with each other. There is the mobile phones, computers and the internet.

The digital era has now been shaping our perception of the world. Truth is, we no longer have boundaries. Through globalization, our sense of belonging transcend to global communities and communication. Globalization has cut the line of time and space in the physical world.

Through the Internet, we meet different people across the globe. There are inter-racial dating and marriages. And yes, there are hybrid of Asians and Westerns moving from one country to another destination. A lot has been morphing ranging from seeing China to rise as a powerful economic icon up to as simple as being awed with the inception of instant celebrities in Youtube or the worldwide Apple craze.

Soon, digitalization will shape the education system, and even the political or economic foundations of countries. In education, Information and Communication technologies (ICT) shall be the ball game. Every student will have an access to computers and all the process will be done online. In fact, the mushrooming of online education is of clear evidence. Relatively different institutions have been reaching out to rural areas to address the issue of digital divide, a phenomenon that articulates the division between illiterate and literate learners.

In terms of politics, people who use online media may take part by sharing insights. Social media have been influential in not only branding politicians, it has also paved way to the participation of people in voicing out their views. More over, while various social media sites have been bombarded with campaigns, the people speak up through shout outs, videos, blogs and a lot more.

In terms of technology, it will be more of convergence. Before, people watch television and listen to radio. In the 21st century, such convergence of technologies leads to new formats of consumption. People can now watch television, listen to radio and play games in one technology- the computer. Moreover, people can now take picture using their mobiles phones while listening to a music on the same mini wonder.

On the other, there will be more initiative in addressing climate change. As the climate changes, more countries will be hit by natural disasters. This would be aggravated if institutions will put good and healthy practices in absolute neglect. And so, the people would move toward educating oneself in saving the earth. Big nations and global organizations will come to help other nations, while aid may come in finances or in policy support.

My hope for the next 10 years would be polishing of policies in protecting human rights and development. As technologies affect our lives, it is best to institutionalize new policies to protect such as cyberspace human rights and or even as simple as copyright. Moreover, with the advent of technologies, the government or various institutions may work closely on addressing digital divide. While there is prevalence of poverty, there is also an evidence of lack of access and knowledge to technologies in poor places or countries. Plus, it is high time to save our earth even in our simplest actions.

In the last 10 years, I've been monitoring how does the face of media has been changing. And in my thoughts, I am able to achieve and track how media could move with technologies. It is no wonder, convergence and digitalization have become the two powerful systems in shaping human communication. Gone are the days of putting a sender of the message and letting the receiver digest the information. Today, everyone is involved, the sender and processor of information. With this exchange of roles as complemented in the information superhighway, it's high time to be responsible in all our actions.

Personally, my goal has been anchored with seeing communication practices unfold with various technologies. And from what I see, if we don't educate our people on these emerging technologies, dependence by humans to a digital era may turn chaotic especially with the threats of intensive consumerism.

I graduated from college and I'm working. The one thing I wanted to happened during the first ten was to be married with a family and it didn't happen. I'm believing that for the next ten years my dreams of getting married and having a family will come true as well as being financially stable and my student loan is paid off for good and living in a nice home, free of mortgage.

My first thought is that Terrorism emerged as a major concern.
And for the next ten years the "hope" is to eradicate it.