I’ve just done a curious thing. I sang, badly, the first few bars of ‘She Loves You’ by The Beatles into my new iPhone, and then tapped it three times. It then started playing, on its superb, crystal clear screen, a vintage black and white recording of the Fab Four singing the song on TV.

I tap the screen again a few times. Now I am seeing a satellite image of the weather system over Ireland, taken just a few seconds ago, with detailed weather forecasts. Wrap up warm. A few more taps, and I am zooming down from space to the beautiful blue planet, to stunning images of Ireland, and Dublin, and right down to where I am now, clearly seeing my roof and the trees in the garden. I can type in where I want to go, and it will give me directions on a map, which moves as I travel.
I can download and read books on this phone, from Jane Austen to Shakespeare to Wilde. I can read any newspaper I want. I can listen to any radio station I want, watch any video I want. Within minutes of it airing in the States, I was watching Obama’s 30 minute election broadcast on it. (By the time you read this, you will know whether the world is a better place or not. Fingers crossed, so tight they hurt.)
I can tap it again, on the smooth, smooth glass, and it cheerfully informs me that, so far, I have saved €228.56 since I gave up cigarettes. A happy coincidence, as it more or less equates to what I’ve just forked out for the thing.
I can take a photograph with it and, within seconds, it could be on the internet for all to see. I can write something with it, and send my words of wisdom instantly to publish on my blog, with or without photographs to accompany my ramblings. I can speak or sing or play the spoons into it, and record something which can then be turned, instantly, into a podcast.
I can see instantly what my online friends are up to, if there is any news, and can chat to them if they’re available, or play games with them. I can use it as a remote control device for my computer; I can even apparently snoop in on its webcam if it’s on.
On top of all this, I can listen to my music, send and receive emails, as well as, of course, surf the web. If I’m in a free wi-fi zone, and there are more and more of them around town, all the above is free, even my texts, and even my phonecalls if using something like Skype. And, amazingly, my phone bill per month looks like it’s going to be cheaper than it was before.
Apparently, in the not-too-distant future, once the right software comes out, I could be able to record video with it and upload it to the web. In other words: I can be my own radio station, TV channel, newspaper, magazine, reporter, record label, singer, performer, producer and film-maker, all rolled into one – and the list is only as long as my imagination.
Technology is getting really exciting, at least for someone of my generation. It’s getting far more sophisticated than Gene Roddenberry could ever have imagined with those natty little Star Trek communicators and cumbersome tricorders (original series, please!) that he envisaged for the year 2245.
When it comes to the arts, especially, technology is moving faster than most of us can keep up with. The music industry as we understand it is dying on its feet; the future is digital, anarchic, and the old corporate structures are no longer viable. Word of mouth, as it is spread on the internet, is challenging the old order, and it is no longer possible to remain in control of one’s brand, one’s image, one’s publicity, one’s voice and sound, one’s own narrative – unless one claims your own bit of cyberspace, to take charge of it yourself. And even then, no one can really control what happens to creative output when it’s released into the wild any more. Old publicity and marketing norms do not apply – the zeitgeist has not been this untameable in quite a while. For example: I hear a song I like on the radio. I take out my phone while it’s still playing, and tap it a couple of times. Within seconds, the phone has recognised the track, I have the name of the band, and I’m at their website or MySpace page, watching their videos, buying their singles. I can buy tickets to their next gig with another couple of clicks, if they’re playing. This can all happen before the end of the song.
This takes a lot to get one’s head around. It’s alright for you youngsters, who have taken to it like ducks to water, but for the rest of us who are playing catch up and trying to figure out how to make the most of it, the Arts Council is planning a free day-long conference on the arts and how the new social media affects it. Yours truly will be taking part in it. Any artists/singers/producers are welcome to attend – register at http://artscouncilnewmediaconference.com.