Introducing Web 3.0 - a tectonic-scale vision for IT
In the IT world, we’ve been talking a lot about Web 2.0, which I describe as very social, very interactive applications and information-sharing over the internet, which has yet to make much penetration into mainstream corporate business processes. At a May IT conference in Seoul, Eric Schmidt (the CEO of Google) was asked what Web 3.0 was. He responded that Web 2.0 is a marketing term and he noted that his questioner had now invented the term Web 3.0. Despite that, he (Schmidt) went to give a vision of what Web 3.0 might be. (Update: I just remembered. I heard a similar vision - called Internet 3.0 - from Stewart Alsop at Morgo 2006.)
In essence, he describes a world very different from the IT world we know today, one where applications are interchangeable, small and fast, and all data lives ‘in the cloud’, i.e. on some secure, trusted internet service, rather than the traditional in-house server and desktop environments we know today. That requires a big shift in trust, but one I think will happen, driven by economics, flexibility and skills shortages. That’s provided governments don’t kill it through bad behaviours under the false flag of anti-terrorism. Even then, there’s a massive opportunity for countries/companies to be safe havens for ‘in the cloud’ data and applications, away from badly behaved governments.
Anyway, watch this layman explanation of a tectonic-scale technology shift which may make many IT executives uncomfortable - or at least those who see themselves primarily as managers and providers of in-house IT services and delivery infrastructure. The reality may be a blend, who knows? But your CIO and his or her enterprise architects and IT strategists need to be thinking about this stuff.
Thanks to Miramar Mike for spotting this. Trackback uri
August 8th, 2007 at 9:21 pm
At least the Google head of research, has Peter Norvig mentioned Web 2.0 in this video of his talk during a conference/workshop in May this year. So, Google R&D division (Prof. Norvig, et al) admit that there is something called Web 2.0, while the Google head office and admin officials think not.
August 11th, 2007 at 2:35 pm
I;m glad you use the word tectonic because i think there is a major shift coming. I’d be interested in hearing more about where Fronde is on this issue and what you are interested in.