Web 3.0

Personally speaking, I think the next big breakthrough we’re looking at is web inspired by life. Monitors, sensors, and applications feeding information into databases hosted in cloud servers, with insight being delivered from algorithms that tabulate, format, and display the information to the web user.

For those who aren’t familar with the versions, here’s how you can break it down.

Web 1.0 – Static Web

This was very one-way. A webmaster would create a webpage and host it online. A web user would then go visit the page. The most interaction between these two might be a friendly email, or a signature in a guest book (does anyone remember those?)

Web 2.0 – Dynamic Web

This was the start of two-way interaction online, and technology evolved to embrace this new use. Ajax, jquery came about to make the web more user-friendly, and made pages modifiable, with individuals contributing and changing websites in real time. Social media networks evolved form this usage, with people working in conjunction with search engine robots to codify the web (semantics, tag clouds, labeling, public bookmarking and sharing).

Web 3.0 – Automated Web

Technology feeds the web, and the programs exist to quantify and display the information. Example: Twitter for plants.  The sensor reads the moisture information for the plant, and sends it to a Twitter feed via WiFi. Another example is the “smart” electrical boxes that monitor energy usage in homes. An automated process, which people view and then use to modify their own behavior. They’ll either water their garden, or turn off their lights, or turn off their A/C for a few days to save money.

So that’s my belief. I think people will be using the web to interpret the world around them, and make use of the advanced analytics tools that the web offers to change how they act to improve their lives. Companies that recognize this trend can get ahead of the curve and make a lionshare of the profits to come from it. Facebook and Google are already doing this; Facebook is automating the sharing of personal information online, and Google is partnering with energy companies to put the information online.

How about you? What’s your view of Web 3.0?