I know, I know - there are plenty of people who haven't wrapped their heads around Web 2.0 yet so what's the rush right? Personally, I like to use the term, it is a useful handle.
Think of it as a further evolution of where we are presently. As Web 2.0 is the evolution of a PC-based world to a browser-based world, then Web 3.0 advocates assert that the next generation of the Internet will feature the semantic web (even more intelligent searches), more recommendations, more tailored data and delivered in real time.
I also believe that it means the evolution from the PC to more thin clients and mobile applications as a point of entry instead of personal computers and laptops. Now that's a shift a long time in the making.
In that vein, Gege Gatt of ICON (a software application company based in Europe), asserts that several broad Web 3.0 trends are emerging this year. Here's my take on it:
- Mobile Applications - Fusing mobile applications with locator software creates a lot of potential. One example would be loopt.com, which allows you to see where your mobile friends are on your iPhone. Another would be www.inMarkit.com, a digital bookmarking software that allows users to tag products and share them with friends on their iPhone, and ideally show the nearest retail outlets that carry the product.
- Interactive maps are a way to share information - we are all aware of Google Maps, but OpenStreetMap.org is taking things to the next level. Think of Google Maps meets Wikipedia. Open source mapping opens up a new useful way to look at data.
- Personal Organization - I consider this the continuation of a current trend. And an obvious one: as long as people are using smarter and smarter smartphones, the need to aggregate data from multiple streams (think Facebook, Outlook, and Twitter - all at once - I'd pay for that one) is paramount.
- Collaboration - Google Wave came and then went. (I'm not sure the strategy of dolling out invitations worked this time around.) Companies like 280slides.net make collaboration on your favorite application, Powerpoint, about as easy as it gets. Import your PowerPoint slides or create them in 280slides and you can get to your presentation anywhere in the world.
One other trend has been evolving for a while has been dubbed "Social Media Intermediaries" by ICON. These are add-on tools to social media products that make for a richer experience. TweetDeck would be an example as is Tweetag.org with the ability to detect trends in Tweets. Imagine a semantic real time search in the Twittersphere.
Gartner has weighed in on this trend by predicting that by 2012 over 50% of enterprises will use activity streams that include microblogging, but that internal Twitter use so to speak, will not gain much traction. This is a continuation of how Twitter is used today for outbound purposes not for internal communciations - its original reason for being. Salesforce sees potential in their version of Twitter for companies but I have to admit I'm baffled that people will use a new tool when there is a perfectly good one already establishedand available.Yet, I can see Twitter add-ons and mashups gaining traction over proprietary applications.
In the year to come, I'm looking forward to more richness of the current Web experience to be the guiding principal for many applications.
