Whither the future?

I've recently spoken at a few conferences for different audiences related to business schools and executive education. I've attended some too by others... all related to Web 2.0, Social Media or generally 'New Technology'.
Well... so .... the whole reason for presenting is to educate. To 'facilitate the dissemination of information to new audiences'. And many of these audiences are in charge of large organisations that teach enormous organisations. And yet they know, in many cases, nothing about 'new technology'.
So this is all good - I'm teaching them. They're learning. Hopefully they're changing their practices in their organisations to ensure that their organisations can use the new technology. For example, by not blocking Facebook, or by encouraging blogging.
But it's an uphill struggle. At the moment it's like leading an illiterate to a library and giving them a Ladybird book, when you know the library is full of truly wonderful literature with boundless possibilities.
Of course, this is an analogy. These fine and wonderful people I've met at the conferences are truly intelligent people - all high achievers - all with an alphabet of letters after their names. But you see my point, right?
So what happens next? Once the current generations get and use and understand and engage in Social Media... where do we go? Is that it?
Of course not. Virtual worlds will grow to a point where they are necessary to use for many rather than interesting. Other tools will proliferate such that we use them without thinking. Like we all, individually, will turn to our favourite column in a newspaper or magazine, we will all, shortly, instantly turn to our social media tool of choice and use that to communicate - be it through a blog, twittering, updating our Facebook page or just flying around a virtual world.
But of course, by that time there will be new technology around and the current Web 2.0 stuff will look to the new generation like Betamax video recorders look to us now. So should we bother? Should we invest and engage with videos when 2 decades later we can get hard-disk personal video recorders (such as Sky Plus, Tiscali Plus, TiVo and so on)?
Well...two decades is a long time to go by without being able to record programmes when you're out...
...and maybe the resistance to change will diminish as the new stuff is invented... those who've grown up with the relentless change will embrace the new ones.
...Or maybe not. Let's wait and see...
....(as if we had any choice!).