« Open Coffee Club – A New Way to Network Outside the Valley | Home | Tag2find - Hagenberg, Austria »
The Next Big Thing
By Rob | May 28, 2007
Sometimes it is easy to see where a trend is going. Most people know that apps on mobile phones are going to be more and more popular. But what about the web in general? What is the next big trend?
Web 2.0 wasn’t about what people thought it was about. Mashups, tagging, sharing, and all that other stuff… those were really just sub categories of convenience and personalization, two of the forces that ultimately drive many changes in technology. The question entrepreneurs need to be asking, is how they can use the web to increase convenience, make personalization easier, or provide deeper and more thorough information.
My personal belief is that we will see a trend that doesn’t include dramatic improvements in technology, but will focus more on user interfaces and web products for the average person. What do you think? With the Web 2.0 trend winding down and becoming more mainstream, what is the next big thing on the web?
Topics: Ideas |
May 31st, 2007 at 12:17 am
Yes, I agree.
I think the next big thing technologically will be apps that are currently web-only (they need an Internet connection) will start to become Internet-optional. I think that Google will lead the way and create a non-Microsoft way to interface and allow apps that are online and offline - this is the biggest hurdle for Google’s suite of cool online apps - and I think that it will start being overcome. This will set off a lot of new apps that will be able to run on or off the Internet.
Internet devices that utilize less expensive hardware and software will start coming out. These would be more specialized devices that talk to the Internet wirelessly and to each other wirelessly. I can see current home PCs being replaced with less expensive laptop-like wireless devices that do what you need them to do if you are an average home user. They may be built around specific user-groups like students or home-users.
Online groups and communication will always be popular, as people always will want new ways to connect and collect together.
May 31st, 2007 at 10:43 pm
I completely agree. And, I think that another point to add is that you’ll see more and more entrepreneurs continue working on ways to take things that have traditionally been done offline and make them faster and easier by bringing them online.
The company that I work for, PartnerUp, is a good example of this. In the past, to find a business partner, you’d have to spend days, weeks, months, or years attending networking events, asking for referals, and trying to connect with others who had not only the skills that you needed, but also the entrepreneurial desire. If you needed multiple business partners, it took even longer. PartnerUp brought that process online and streamlined it.
I’m sure that there are hundreds or thousands of other similar niches out there waiting to be filled.