The communication process has changed to a great extent after the arrival of internet to this world. As information exchange rates increase it is every time more difficult to depend on “fact” to remain as, well, fact. With this increased information exchange rate in mind the time delays among conceptualization and successful product rollout are steadily falling. It is becoming imperative that either you are able to do product role out within a matter of weeks or you forecast the trends of the future and take a risk on developing the incorrect product.
I recently read a post by Richard Mac Manus looking at his 10 future Web trends. These included:
- Semantic Web – the way computers interact with each other and the mechanisms supporting information sharing.
- Artificial Intelligence – providing computers will a level of intelligence.
- Virtual Worlds – good old Virtual Reality.
- Mobile Web – developing web content particularly for mobile handsets.
- Attention Economy – a marketplace where consumers agree to receive products in exchange for their attention onto something else.
- Web Sites as Web Services – Websites are opening their doors to external use i.e. Flickr, Google and others allow 3rd party sites to access their information and utilize their services.
- Online Video/ Internet TV – YouTube rules supreme (for now) but online TV competitors such as Joost are slowly catching up.
- Rich Internet Apps – Online Applications which rely on certain standards to provide cross platform applications for the web.
- International Web – as more of the world goes online the market share will be more evenly distributed.
- Personalization – the process of optimizing searches (among other online interactions) to benefit the personal preferences of the user.
Of these 10 trends I personally see the biggest area for development within the next years will be mobile web, attention economy, online video/internet TV and web services.
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