What can we expect on-line in 2009?
Looking forward and forecasting what's likely to happen in a sector that's still growing faster than any other is always a risk but we're going to stick our neck out and suggest the following areas to look out for.
Yet more etail.
The continued growth in on-line shopping at the expense of traditional retail is a trend that is expected to continue well beyond 2009 and the credit crunch is likely to further accelerate this trend as consumers shop around for bargains.
If you're a business owner, you should take advantage of this by making sure that your products are available on-line through a well designed and managed website. The Internet is very often a buyers first point or research and businesses are now expected to have an on-line presence. If you have a website, great, just make sure that potential new customers can easily find you. If you don't have one, you'll be losing out on the inevitable continued growth.
If you're a consumer, shopping on-line has never been easier or better. Shopping around for bargains is easy, quick and safe - just make sure you keep to safe sites and follow safe shopping guidelines.
More interaction.
The World is becoming smaller and more accessible every day and it's not uncommon for us to have a network of friends spanning the globe. Social media sites make it very easy and enjoyable to keep in touch with friends wherever they may be. If you've not experimented with these sites, we suggest you have a go. The main sites make it easy to open an account and are free so you have nothing to lose by trying them out.
Spams, scams and viruses.
On-line accessibility inevitably brings with it the crooks that seek to cream off a percentage of sales, hack into your computer and steal personal information or seek to take control of your computer with bad intentions. As more and more people use the Internet for personal tasks like shopping and banking, the greater the risk to consumers and the greater the prize to the hackers. Hackers will not go away so you need to take care, be alert, keep anti-virus and spyware up-to-date and never open suspicious looking emails from people you've never heard of.
More mobility.
Data transfer was the largest growth area for mobile 'phone operators in 2008 and that came from more people using mobile devices to gain access to the internet and email. Apple are now the world's third largest mobile phone manufacturer (by sales) and Google believe that revenue from mobile media advertising will reach $1.8bn by 2012.
These changes in the way that we access and use the Internet have become possible thanks to high-speed data services like 3G and always on, always present devices like the iPhone and Blackberry. Small screens make complex surfing awkward but new applications are being launched daily that change the way that we access the Internet and email. Next time your near a mobile 'phone shop, pop in for a demonstration of the newest devices and imagine the future as portrayed by the Star Trek communicators.
More fun.
Widespread, relatively cheap, broadband access has allowed gaming manufacturers to develop applications that allow multi-player games to take place all over the world. Sony and Microsoft are slugging it out at the hardware level with their Playstation and X-box products and you can now play against another player in Japan as easily as someone sitting next to you.
But it's not just gaming applications that benefit from this technology; we've had music downloads for years and the service is now extending to video-on demand services so that we can watch any film we want, when we want to watch it. For a glimpse of how this can work, take a look at bbc.co.uk/iplayer. It's currently only available for programs that have been televised during the past 7 days, but it's only a relatively small step to cover any program that's ever been broadcast, or any film.
The applications for the Internet really are only limited to developers imagination and budget. For us consumers, it offers a virtually unlimited list of activities that are, one the whole, free and safe to use. It's never been a better time to surf the 'Net and to try out new services. For 2009, go and have a play!
Article originally written for Out and Out Living Magazine. January 2009
Labels: Internet
Looking forward and forecasting what's likely to happen in a sector that's still growing faster than any other is always a risk but we're going to stick our neck out and suggest the following areas to look out for.
Yet more etail.
The continued growth in on-line shopping at the expense of traditional retail is a trend that is expected to continue well beyond 2009 and the credit crunch is likely to further accelerate this trend as consumers shop around for bargains.
If you're a business owner, you should take advantage of this by making sure that your products are available on-line through a well designed and managed website. The Internet is very often a buyers first point or research and businesses are now expected to have an on-line presence. If you have a website, great, just make sure that potential new customers can easily find you. If you don't have one, you'll be losing out on the inevitable continued growth.
If you're a consumer, shopping on-line has never been easier or better. Shopping around for bargains is easy, quick and safe - just make sure you keep to safe sites and follow safe shopping guidelines.
More interaction.
The World is becoming smaller and more accessible every day and it's not uncommon for us to have a network of friends spanning the globe. Social media sites make it very easy and enjoyable to keep in touch with friends wherever they may be. If you've not experimented with these sites, we suggest you have a go. The main sites make it easy to open an account and are free so you have nothing to lose by trying them out.
Spams, scams and viruses.
On-line accessibility inevitably brings with it the crooks that seek to cream off a percentage of sales, hack into your computer and steal personal information or seek to take control of your computer with bad intentions. As more and more people use the Internet for personal tasks like shopping and banking, the greater the risk to consumers and the greater the prize to the hackers. Hackers will not go away so you need to take care, be alert, keep anti-virus and spyware up-to-date and never open suspicious looking emails from people you've never heard of.
More mobility.
Data transfer was the largest growth area for mobile 'phone operators in 2008 and that came from more people using mobile devices to gain access to the internet and email. Apple are now the world's third largest mobile phone manufacturer (by sales) and Google believe that revenue from mobile media advertising will reach $1.8bn by 2012.
These changes in the way that we access and use the Internet have become possible thanks to high-speed data services like 3G and always on, always present devices like the iPhone and Blackberry. Small screens make complex surfing awkward but new applications are being launched daily that change the way that we access the Internet and email. Next time your near a mobile 'phone shop, pop in for a demonstration of the newest devices and imagine the future as portrayed by the Star Trek communicators.
More fun.
Widespread, relatively cheap, broadband access has allowed gaming manufacturers to develop applications that allow multi-player games to take place all over the world. Sony and Microsoft are slugging it out at the hardware level with their Playstation and X-box products and you can now play against another player in Japan as easily as someone sitting next to you.
But it's not just gaming applications that benefit from this technology; we've had music downloads for years and the service is now extending to video-on demand services so that we can watch any film we want, when we want to watch it. For a glimpse of how this can work, take a look at bbc.co.uk/iplayer. It's currently only available for programs that have been televised during the past 7 days, but it's only a relatively small step to cover any program that's ever been broadcast, or any film.
The applications for the Internet really are only limited to developers imagination and budget. For us consumers, it offers a virtually unlimited list of activities that are, one the whole, free and safe to use. It's never been a better time to surf the 'Net and to try out new services. For 2009, go and have a play!
Article originally written for Out and Out Living Magazine. January 2009
Labels: Internet
posted by Andy @ 20:42
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