Dec 24, 2016 05:20 AM EST By yasi bilangel, UniversityHerald Reporter

The year 2016 looked into the triumphs and failures of the tech industry from the latest innovations of building rockets and self-driving cars to exploding smartphones and strange algorithms that contradict democracy. With these triumphs and failures, the tech industry bravely hurdles obstacles, learns from past errors, and hopefully makes use of its influence for the greater good.

Facebook Wins and Fails

Mark Zuckerberg is hailed as a victor with 1.79 billion people actively using the social networking site and providing $6 billion dollars in profit for the first three quarters of this year alone. However, Zuckerberg has also become 2016's greatest foe of democracy due to an algorithm that lets Facebook control which information gets to certain people.

The social networking site now acts as a powerful media company. Facebook refuses to own and take responsibility for this power, possibly providing misinformation to the general public, The Guardian reported.

Innovations At A Cost

Elon Musk is deservedly a winner, taking credit for seeking alternative and sustainable power source for our planet, despite revealing Tesla's first fatality brought about by its self-driving car. Moreover, his SpaceX Mission are providing valuable resources and opprtunites for learning despite losing Zuckerberg's satellite in the Falcon explosion.

Opportunistic Individuals

Other tech winners for this year are the hackers and internet trolls, who have completely optimized what the latest technology has to offer to further their gains. Not to be discounted is Peter Thiel who is now in an influential position to select the favored companies and CEOs for the duration of Trump's administration, Fox Business reported.

Troubled Gadgets

As to the losers, Samsung troubles began with the Note 7, wherein the phablet has been known to explode, prompting its recall and plummeting Samsung's profits. Apple seized the opportunity to grab a sizeable chunk of the profits for this year even though many believed ditching of the headphone jack was not a smart move.

Lost Opportunities

Twitter under Jack Dorsey has declined in active usage, while many lamented losing Vine, the amusing 6-seconds looping video app launched in 2012. Moreover, Theranos has closed down its labs after a discovery that the finger-prick blood test does not work. Last but not the least, with self-driving cars catching up, many individuals who drive for a living are facing their worst fear of being displaced.

What The Future Holds

2017 will naturally usher in the latest, most powerful and productivity-oriented devices from smartphones, tablets to laptops. Next year may see more of VR/AR applications on education and medicine, fewer road fatalities if California and other states allow the technology to be tested, and even discover alien worlds and life forms if Trump continues to support NASA.

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