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Mar 17, 2021 · Jeffrey Cole is a media and technology expert who advises governments and companies worldwide on digital strategies. He founded and directs the World Internet Project, a long-term study of Internet users in 35 countries, and the Global Disruption Fund, a technology investment fund.
Research Professor of Communication. Director of the Center for the Digital Future. colej@usc.edu. (310) 235-4444. digitalcenter.org. Academic Program Affiliation: Communication (BA) Biography. Publications and Work.
Jeffrey I. Cole is a media analyst and Research Professor in the Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism at the University of Southern California. He is the Founder and Director of Center for the Digital Future and the World Internet Project, the longest-running study of the impact of digital technology on users and non-users.
- Jeffrey Cole: Perspectives on The Digital Realm
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The director of the Center for the Digital Future at USC Annenberg explores trends and issues that expand on the findings from the Center’s studies.
To subscribe to these columns, send an email to info@digitalcenter.org ________________________________
June 5 — Morgan Stanley recently predicted that by 2034 ten percent of Americans (35 million people) will be taking semaglutide weight loss medications, the best known of which is Ozempic. At a cost of $900-$1,300 per month (it’s as low as $200 in the UK), and with little insurance coverage except for diabetics and very obese people, the economic disruption to the healthcare system, and a growing list of companies (some obvious, others surprising) is already starting to be enormous. In my las...
May 22 — Disney got it wrong with one of its most popular and enduring theme park attractions: it’s not such a small world after all! The “Small World” ride premiered at the 1964 New York World’s Fair. Built by Disney’s imagineers, it was such a sensation the company quickly moved it to Disneyland where it opened in 1966. Visitors sit in a small boat that moves through a shallow channel—viewing dancing dolls from around the world while being serenaded by one of the catchiest songs ever. It’s...
November 3— Tesla doesn’t need to change its corporate name. It is not necessary to obfuscate the identity of its signature product, protect its tone-deaf CEO from public and government scrutiny, or suppress the way its products affect the health and well-being of its users. The more sunshine it lets in, the more impressive the Tesla story becomes....
Warner Media blinks: the plan for Wonder Woman 1984
November 24 — Patty Jenkins was looking forward to 2020 being a spectacular year. Three years earlier, she directed the huge hit Wonder Woman, earning Warner Bros. $820 million. It was also the highest grossing film ever directed by a woman, established a new franchise (building on DC Comics), and made Gal Godot a bankable superstar. The sequel, Wonder Woman 1984, was originally scheduled for release in November 2019 at the beginning of the Christmas season. The studio expected it to earn eve...
November 8 — I cannot believe I am saying this, but kudosto Fox News for its role as a responsible news organization during the 2020 election of Joe Biden as President of the United States. Credit where credit is due: Fox’s reporting was fair (It’s a very different story with its on-air commentators.). Fox understood its role as the only major source of information its loyal audience trusted, and that its reporting in the moments and days after the election could inflame or contain its base’s...
November 4— The year 2020 cannot end soon enough. Putting divisive politics, devastating economic recession, continuing social injustice, and the Coronavirus pandemic in our rear-view mirrors brings hope for a better 2021 and beyond. It has been a terrible year — one that will join 1918 and 1968 in the unhappy history books. But out of all the chaos and anxiety of the past decade, culminating in 2020, may emerge a hopeful development: the return of the professional media gatekeeper as citizen...
— Center director Jeffrey Cole joined other national experts in a nine-part feature in the Los Angeles Timeson December 20, 2019 that offered predictions on key issues for the nation in 2020. Cole took on the subject of how competing forces within the entertainment industry will transform film and television with the broadest impact felt in more than 60 years. Cole’s predictions are here; the full feature from the Los Angeles Times is here. __________
December 4— Suicide is now the second leading cause of death for adolescents: are digital technologies to blame? Why do technologies designed to foster connectedness and relationships seem to be producing the opposite effect? (more) __________
November 20— It’s not news that we live in a divided country. Historians say we are looking at the most significant and dangerous divides since the Civil War 150 years ago. What’s truly alarming is that some believe that another Civil War is not a far-fetched idea. In my lifetime, the divides between the left and the right, or between Democrats and Republicans, have never been so acute or dangerous. We watch different media, collect separate (and opposing) facts, believe in different science,...
December 11— Long before we realized how little Facebook did to protect its users’ privacy, and how its top executives cared only about protecting their own reputations and self-created myths, there were already weaknesses in the Facebook story. But the threat to Facebook’s existence comes not from past problems; but from the future impact of a unique blend of arrogance, hubris, greed, mismanagement, and incompetence. (more) __________
November 28— In Mark Zuckerberg’s worst nightmare, he never could have imagined anything as horrible as the November 24, 2018 issue of the Sunday New York Times that contained an op-ed piece with the large font headline, “Do You Have a Moral Duty to Leave Facebook?” In these columns, I have examined how quickly these four companies appeared on the tech scene and asked, if they could emerge so fast, could they disappear equally fast? Now we have a good indicator as to which of the four may go...
November 7— In the seven years since Netflix spun off its red envelope business (DVDs by mail) into a separate company with the silly name Qwikster and focused on a streaming business that kept the Netflix name, the company has turned into a global behemoth. Netflix is firing on all cylinders, financially and creatively. That is why it is now the target of all the studios in Hollywood. Disney, Warner, Paramount, Fox, Universal, and Sony want the free ride to end. Netflix has built its busines...
December 7— Almost no one would argue that some government regulation is not only necessary, but in many instances desirable. Even the most rigid limited-government conservative would not fly on an airplane that is not regulated. What concerns me is not too little or too much regulation, but, rather, when regulation is used to stifle competition and innovation. These regulations are usually encouraged by established businesses trying to protect their industries and keep more innovative newcom...
November 17— No one wants to give up the internet. But we are tired of the internet defining our lives. We want to take advantage of all the extraordinary things the web brings to our lives without having to deal with all the negatives surrounding its use. In short, we want to take control of our use of the internet rather than having it control us. We have given a name to this phenomenon. . .(more) __________
November 2— Companies facing intense disruption almost never turn themselves around when they are profitable. Disrupting short-term profits to make the changes necessary to transform the direction of the company is too painful and strongly inhibited by shareholders’ immediate interests. Banks know this is coming, but they will not do anything about it until it is too late. (more) __________
Nov 29, 2016 · Jeffrey A. Cole and his wife Patricia O’Brien Cole have made a transformational gift to continue their philanthropic legacy at the Cleveland Clinic Cole Eye Institute. This $31 million commitment will help Cole Eye Institute expand its clinical and surgical capabilities as well enhance its research and educational mission.
Jeffrey Cole is a media and technology expert who advises governments and companies worldwide. He founded and directs the World Internet Project, a long-term study of Internet users in over 35 countries.
Jun 15, 2023 · Center for the Digital Future’s Jeffrey Cole awarded Ellis Island Medal of Honor. Long before Research Professor Jefferey Cole became the director of the Center for the Digital Future, he studied history at UCLA. Today, he is forging his own legacy as an expert in technology and emerging media.
