It's difficult to look to the future without looking to the past for some insight. Definitively, there have been two great improvements to society starting with the creation of the semiconductor, followed by the internet. Without these two milestones, the information age would have never accumulated into anything. Even with these improvements there have been questions of how they will impact our lives. When the first computers were made, people thought they would always be confined to large rooms with punch art programming. Look at us now, using phones with more computer power then an entire room of mainframes.
The point here is that you can never assume technology or society has reached its pinnacle. Eight years ago, did you ever imagine that wireless Internet would be provided through your phones? Did you imagine Google or download speeds above 10 Megs? Probably not, but as a business you can't afford to become comfortable in your Internet skin. You have to assume that technology is advancing and your business needs to keep up with it.
One way to keep up is to recognize that people are surfing the internet more and more with their phones. Currently the internet community is shifting from creating static width websites to websites that can shrink to fit the displays of the newest phones. As a business you may be losing customers if your website doesn't fit on the small displays. (Check out the styling feature for cell phones at the top of the site.) Though it might be hard to see the return on your investment, it's the same concept as having your company name on the outside of your building. The Internet is no different than people walking by your business on the street. Are you visible and accessible to them?
These are my prediction for the internet.
- Web 2.0 will become the internet standard programming format.
- Download speeds will triple in the next 5 years.
- Wireless internet will be available anywhere in the country for free.
- Flash content will be primarily replaced by AJAX
- Google will become one of the largest ISP's in the world.
- Computers will be ultra thin and flexible so you can fold them.
Considering these predictions and the future of the internet, how will your business utilize the advancements? Will you stay comfortable or take a risk? Give us a call for a free, no-obligation consulting meeting to discuss what we can do for your company's Internet future.
