Rather bravely, I made some predictions in 2011 about where the web and digital technology was going. Well, only 3 years have passed so let’s pull ’em out of the archive and see what is what.
1. Tablet computing will be huge. Woot! Got that one right, even predicted it as a must-have pressy and the rise of Android. It’s all down hill from here.
2. Open Geo. Bugger, not really. Outside of SatNav/Maps and some checking in on Facebook it’s not really taken off. Context aware (aware always on) devices might do a better job in 2015.
3. Flash will die. Again. Yes, get in there. Killed by mobile devices. I’ve hated flash since 1998.
4. Digital living room. Yes, another hit. Networked TV arrived with Sonys Online experience, Netflix, LoveFilm etc. Voice & gesture recognition by the console boys has also helped.
5. End of Google’s search dominance. Booboo number two. In fact Googles grip has tightened. What was I thinking?
6. Mumbo-jumbo applications. No, not yet. Still for the early adopter.
7. Cloud computing. Slam dunk, everything is heading there now.
8. Micro-pay and usage based applications. Wow, this was a left field one – even Microsoft themselves have moved to micropayment.
9. Death of SEO. Yes, and it’s been replaced with content marketing. Those that dabbled in the black arts will be hunted until the end of time.
10. Welcome to the Semantic web. The semantic what? Deffo not one that hit the mainstream.
Oh well, six out of ten ain’t bad. Maybe I’ll do better next year.
By Martin Dower
