A PC and a laptop computer have become household objects, like a microwave oven and a fridge. Our apartments are well equipped with software that serves as a huge container of information, including electronic mass media and libraries, encyclopedias, textbooks, reference books, and many other things that can be surfed with the click of a mouse. The Internet is inherent in our lives, a speedy reminder of our digital age’s vast opportunities. The Internet provides us with different kinds of information and save our time. To many of us it has become a platform that is personalized and highly interactive. The Internet makes us technologically competent. It has invaded our minds. The problem is that the Internet changes rapidly, reinforcing the digital meaning of our lives. I will introduce the latest Internet trends to you, using R. MacMannes’s manual as a reference source.
The first trend is the Semantic Web that analyzes all data on the Web in the form of the metadata describing data. RDF and OWL are current examples of this web. The second trend is Artificial Intelligence that is the embodiment of a brain-like computing paradigm. For example, artificial intelligence techniques are used in search 2.0 companies. The third trend is virtual worlds that would make real life digital. The fourth trend is Mobile Web, like Apples iPhone. Yahoo and Google will become key mobile portals. The fifth trend is the Attention Economy that will provide the user with choice via attention marketplace (companies offer services and consumers choose these services) and attention services (alerts, new search, and shopping). The sixth trend will become Web services, providing both a platform and the database. Some web sites will offer services via a REST API, while others will use Dapper, Teqlo, and Yahoo! Pipes. The seventh trend is online video or internet TV. The eighth trend is Rich Internet Apps that will keep the user engaged, like today’s Adobe’s AIR platform. The ninth trend is creation of the International WEB that at present includes Yahoo! Sites, Time Warner Network, Microsoft, Google sites, and eBay. Finally, web sites will become more personalized, based on what country the user is searching from.
Finally. I want to inform you about folksonomy that strengthens the user’s presence with major search engines, using tags that label a piece of data with metadata. It is used by Del.icio.us, dig.com, and technorati. Del.icio,us is a bookmarking web application that encourages site visitors to submit selected webpages to the del.icio.us bookmark page. Digg.com develops geek culture: it is created by digg.com users. Technorati is helpful for the users who have a blog.
The Internet enjoys its rapid development. All Internet users are involved in this development, as they expect a lot from Internet services. The more sophisticated Internet services are provided, the more Internet users expect from their magic software. Our digital age welcomes human cooperation with digital machines in a world of point and click.