Middle East Directory - e-Business Column

Web 3.0 – The Future Is At Our Doorstep

Web 3.0 is a term used to describe the future of the ‘World Wide Web’. Interestingly, most 2.0 versions of software launches have historically been short lived, (Windows was a classic example. 1.0 was so full of bugs, it was hardly worth using; 2.0 fixed some serious problems, but still had a lot of shortcomings; 3.0, launched in May 1990 was an instant success, and the rest is history).

Don’t be surprised, then, if Web 2.0 also turns out to be just a staging post on the way to a much more mature and durable Web 3.0. If Facebook’s falling numbers (both, number of subscribers and sales revenue) are any indication, then the social networking era may be ready to bite the dust faster than it rose like a phoenix!

Some Definitions:

Web 1.0 – The Readable Phase, Static Flat Data
Web 2.0 – The Writeable Phase, Interactive Data
Web 3.0 – The Executable Phase, Dynamic Applications

Web 3.0 will transform the way the Web is used and lead to new possibilities in artificial intelligence. Some visionaries suggest that increases in Internet connection speeds, modular web applications and advances in computer graphics will play the key role in the evolution of the World Wide Web.

My personal view is as follows: “You won’t have to be a computer scientist to create a web application. Web 3.0 will be a true communal medium, the distinction between professional, semi-professional and consumers will get blurred, creating a network effect of business and applications accessible on a super highway with bandwidths exceeding 10 megabits. At those dizzing speeds, the internet will find not only what you want to search in a jiffy, it will predict and preempt what you want to find!”

For those with a technical bent of mind, 2D will be replaced by 3D, Open API’s will be a norm, RDF and OWL will be standard data formats, Data web will pave the way for Semantic web - where machines will talk to machines. ‘World Wide Web’ will be ‘World Wide Database’. Demographic marketing will give way to behavioral marketing. In brief, the web will become 3D, more intelligent, fast and easy to access through peripheral devices. Example, computers will be able to take over tasks we now do by hand: find the nearest restaurant, book the best flight, buy the cheapest CD, pay for all services required and have them delivered to your doorstep!

For more indepth analysis of Web 3.0, contact: sharad@cyber-gear.com

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