The development of Internet touches all aspects of our lives. Can you imagine a world without it?! Some say we are entering ‘web 4.0′, on our way to the next era. With the majority of the world accessing the Internet, a force that changed the landscape throughout cultures enters our world. In this first article I want to set the framework for a series of articles I will write about Social Media.
The best way for me to understand the development of the web towards this thing we call ‘Social Media’, is looking at this timeline (see illustration below). Every decade has its own keyword. Up till now people distinguished four stages online. They are called ‘web 1.0′ till ‘4.0’. And to be honest, people define these stages differently, but this is my perspective. Although speaking of ‘web4.0′ is still relatively new, it seems to be the logic next step. Let me quickly run you through those four stages.
Push
(web 1.0 | 1990)
In this stage the Internet is mostly company driven. They are ‘pushing’ their customers to go online, because they have published their brochure online. Mostly text based web. A lot to read, less to see. Websites are born in this stage. Different computer languages are developed. Like JavaScript or html.
Share
(web 2.0 | 2000)
The Internet slowly becomes the field of the customer, more than of the companies. At the peak of this stage YouTube is launched. That was back in 2005. Most of us can’t image daily life without it anymore. The web is the place where you share all kinds of things. Thoughts, pictures, photos, fragments of what is happening in life.
The force of the online world is shaping the next generation and it is changing the essence of cultures.
Live
(web 3.0 | 2010)
Online and offline living has become more and more integrated. Friendships are based on face-to-face contact and Facebook-to-Facebook. People blend reality and online experiences into their life. Some research even speaks of the Internet as a basic need for the ‘digital natives’, a generation that is born after 1990 and never knew a world without internet. We talk in-person, with WhatsApp video, with virtual reality and meetings start to include holograms further blending digital interactions into daily life.
Smart
(web 4.0 | 2020)
What does web 4.0 look like? Personally I think this will be the era of ‘smart’. All kinds of technology are making your life easier by anticipating to your daily life as they connect to the Internet. The refrigerator that tells your smart watch that you run out of milk, when you are nearby your favorite supermarket…? The watch that monitors everything from your morning runs until the times you sleep, from climate regulation until adjusting the music and lights when you come home. Keep an eye on artificial intelligence to help drive this personalization.
We need to change faster
What’s after web 4.0? Change on all fronts will happen faster, how will your team adapt faster?
More and more we live in a world where the landscape is determined by what is happening online, what happens on social media
Landscape
More and more we live in a world where the landscape is determined by what is happening online, what happens on social media. The force of the online world is shaping the next generation and it is changing the essence of cultures and the way people communicate and messages are valued, but also how the message of your organization is valued.
In my next article I want to share more about how this changing landscape influenced the thinking of the digital natives, (and not only them), and what is important to understand if you want to engage with your ‘target audience’, ‘persona’ on social media.
To get the latest on social media trends, the Media to Movements team also suggests:
