Web trends for 2007

Trends 2007 (PDF), a report forecasting the web trends for the coming year, published by the Creative Group. The information was developed by David-Michel Davies, executive director of The Webby Awards and the International Academy of Digital Arts & Sciences, a 550-member organization founded in 1998 to help drive the creative, technical, and professional progress of the Internet. Other members of the IADAS include musician David Bowie, Senator Barbara Boxer, Simpsons cartoonist Matt Groening, business design guru Larry Keeley, Lee Rainie of PEW, Howard Rheingold, Anita Roddick of The Body Shop, Sherry Turkle of MIT, and NPR radio host Ira Glass.

The short report focuses on five main areas of interest: Smart technology, Interactive television, Online advertising, Green consumers, and “Web 3.0” features.

Smart Technology
Smart-phone sales are apparently growing 35.5 percent annually until 2011, just one example of the consumer interest in context-aware devices. They cite a German shopping cart that takes a downloadable shopping list and guides the customer around the store, providing meta information about the purchases along the way, and the Nabaztag bunny robot, which does things like read blogs aloud and embody interpersonal communication.

Interactive Television
About 70% of Internet users now watch video online, much of it through YouTube, a community-driven content provider. Advertisers like eMarketer have reported 2007 budgets of some $775 million for online video production. However, digital television recorders and on-demand programming are putting new emphasis on the box sitting in your living room. TiVo and Apple TV are trying to integrate Internet media with traditional cable/network programming, paving the way for Web 2.0 features of commentary, referral and tagging to show up through your remote control. User participation is going to be a large part of consumer experience, both on and off the ‘Net.

Online Advertising
Online marketing budgets are going to swell 25% this year, on the verge of passing outdoor and radio ads. This will continue the evolution of advertising from 30-second interruptions to embedded experiences. The report singles out the rapidly-growing Second Life. More than 2.6 million have already joined, with a growth of about 20,000 per day as of mid-January. Businesses are purchasing land and staging events to promote their message in the context of this 3D community. Machinima, the use of 3D worlds and characters to create digital films, are being used by companies and organizations to leverage interest in Internet-delivered media content. Many companies are hiring special Second Life designers to help establish such a presence.

Green Consumers
“Green products” are a bigger consumer market in some places of the world than beer and cigarettes. Some of the environmentally-friendly innovations are not for general consumption (Tom Kiser’s liquid chimney), but things like solar-powered cell phone rechargers and appliances that monitor power consumption are targeted at individuals focused on sustainability. This report argues that creatives will be spending 2007 convincing manufacturers that eco-friendly products will sell and promoting the green practices already in place.

Web 3.0
If version 2.0 is the domain of consumer-driven content and easy publication tools, then Web 3.0 is about artificial intelligence for search and profiling of that information. Applications will more and more be built as a guides through the vast ocean of home videos and blog rants to find nuggets of relevant content. We’ll see more interfaces with human characteristics, such as natural language and interactive exchanges.

The report specifically identifies the following sites as near-future locations to bookmark:

• Banner Blog—for cutting-edge banner advertising
• News Today—a curated, community-driven collection of online art and design
• Stash Media TV—inspirational animation, video effects, and broadcast design
• del.icio.us—a social bookmarking tool
• Second Life—an online society within a 3-D world
• Nabaztag—the Wi-Fi robotic bunny for embodied content
• Design Observer—commentary on design and culture by celebrated designers
• The Daily Reel—a curated online video resource to highlight the gems of YouTube