So the Internet went live in 1969 but did not go commercial until the invention of the web in 1989.
The web was single handedly responsible for making the Internet the huge global phenomenon it is today.
But, it is evolving and now, I consider the web the fallback option and heres why:
My phone knows who I am and where I am and what’s around me, so when I want to find something in the real world, I use my phones Sat Nav, when I want to tell somebody where I am I use social media apps like Facebook, Twitter or Find My Friend. When I want to control my Sky TV box, I use my iPad app, which allows me to see the EPG from anywhere I am on the planet, set a recording from anywhere on the planet and organise my planner from any WiFi hotspot around my home or office. If I’m at a shop and want see how much a product costs on Amazon, I get my phone out, launch the amazon app, scan the bar code and find out how much Amazon are going to charge me. When I see it’s cheaper, I order it then and there and receive it the next day. When I go to an event, I use the phones calendar to remind me, the phones sat nav to find it, and I use the phone’s Eventbrite App to show my entry ticket. I then write the review by the phones voice dictation while I’m attending the event and publish it while I’m still there.
My phone records my life through the photos and videos I take, the locations it remembers from Facebook and twitter checkins and from the streamed music I listen to.
My bank trusts my phone, a few years ago banks upgraded their users security with PIN sentry card readers, small devices that you would insert your bank card into, enter your PIN and receive a logon validation number to access the bank via the web. Now, I use my phone to access all my banking, it’s more secure than the web, has more functionality and it even has a built in cardless PIN sentry function if I wish to fall back to web based banking.
I’ve just checked on the recently relaunched Bebo, the website address simple displays a link to the Apple or Android store to download the phone or tablet app. The website itself has no function.
What, then do I use a laptop for, well, writing this blog mostly. What do I use the web for, well general surfing when I’m at work, but at home I rarely use the web browser in my tablet as I mostly have apps to perform all the functions that I want and those apps know me and so do more than a web interface could ever dream of.
Don’t get me wrong, the web is capable of replicating many of the functionality of apps, but it is not natively designed to do so and so mostly it doesn’t. The web doesn’t know who you are, doesn’t know where you are, can’t send you push notifications, can’t make phone calls over WiFi, it can’t take photos or videos, it can’t sat nav, it can’t check you in to an event, it can’t find a hotel or restaurant near you, it can’t automatically reserve a room or table in said venue, it can’t play you music. It can’t notify you if a train is running late or their is heavy traffic on the roads, you can’t watch streamed live TV or use it to control your smart TV, it can’t listen to music playing around you and direct you to the relevant tune in iTunes to download, you can’t place a bet on it when your at the racecourse, you can’t tell somebody your running late for a meeting or even where you are, you can’t shop on Amazon when your in M&S, you can’t translate a conversation in Japanese while at a football match and you can’t read todays newspaper while on the train.
The web will still be around for many years to come, but it will become the fall back option when nothing else is available, just like webmail is the rarely used fallback option for email.
Why I am explaining this, well as a developer or tech guru, you won’t really care about the web, it will simply be your calling card or contact details for users that don’t have any other option. As such I’m not really backing many web based tech companies anymore.
Next time: Location Location Location