My colleagues at the Smart Internet CRC at Swinburne University have just released a major report forecasting Internet developments over the next half decade or so - not an easy task, as in Internet years even 2010 still seems an eternity from now. Looks very interesting - and I'm especially intrigued by the four 'Schools of Thought' for what the Net will be which they've identified in their research:
- Adaptive User Environment
(the Net of 2010 will be highly adaptive to human needs) - Not The Smart Internet
(functional and low-cost solutions will lead the way) -
Rich Media
(rich, mobile media and media platforms will be the key drivers) -
Chaos Rules
(a continual state of decay and worsening disorder)
But of course this brief outline doesn't do the whole 170-page report justice. I look forward to reading the whole thing - and so can you (PDFs):
And by way of the obligatory clarification, the Alex Burns who co-authored this report is not me, but rather the editor of Disinformation (and my co-editor of the M/C Journal 'share' issue).
