Thursday, September 4, 2008

Web 3.0


What is Web 3.0 going to look like? According to PC Magazine and Wikipedia it will be a web that not only precisely articulates the meaning of your keywords through a search engine but eliminates keywords all together. The "semantic web" as they call it. The new web will analyze and read through websites for you, providing only the results that pertain exactly to your needs. And it will know your needs not because you have necessarily initiated a search but because it watches your actions and anticipates your moves. Kind of like the Skynet military defense system in the Terminator franchise but less hostile and without the want to destroy the human race. (Although I still have my reservations on completley trusting the electornic beast.)

I completely agree with the predictions currently being discussed. I see the web moving to a place where the general population becomes unaware that they are even using it. When I was younger I had a dream of one day walking up to a restaurant in New York and on my sunglasses would appear an extensive review of the establishment including menus, contact information, etc. In my mind it would involve a large backpack full of electronic equipment with wires running to a large pair of sunglasses. Lame I know. But it was the 90s and I watched a lot of bad science fiction films.


It seems that what once was a fantastic figment of my imagination is now a reality in the iPhone. However, unlike my designs, there is no backpack and glasses but a small sleek device that fits in the palm of your hand. With this device you can stand outside of an establishment (or anywhere for that matter) and research any information you would like. And with third party companies like Google offering online maps with pinpointed locations that seem to list every business under the sun, the idea of researching a restaurant before you walk is now a reality. Before you realize it you forget that you are even using the web at all. It's just your phone.

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