an article caught my eye this morning “The Future of the Internet” in smashingmagazine.com. The article was written by a fellow named Dan Redding. At any rate, Mr. Redding makes some valid points in terms of security, freedom, etc. To an extent I agree with his assertions about where the Internet is going, but my prediction is that it won’t be as rosy as even he makes it out to be.
As a 22 year Internet user, I started at a time when there were virtually no regulations and far fewer users. The Internet was a place for academics, and the two biggest programs on the Internet were email and Usenet News. The Internet was a place to exchange ideas, and you were careful about what you posted because it was a direct reflection of you and your reputation within the academic community. Then came the world wide web and AOL. America Online was pivotal in making the Internet a trailer park it is today. The users of the Internet hated AOL users (click here, here, and here) because they lacked Netiquette.
Then the companies came. Then the companies asserted legal strategies to gain influence on the Internet. Then came politicians. Internet users hated companies and politicians even more the AOL users.
for a brief history of the internet, check out: http://www.walthowe.com/navnet/history.html
So, where is this going? What is the future of the Internet?
1- It will be taxed
2- Data rates will be more expensive
3- you will be charged a premium on speedy access
why? because politicians and companies squeeze every last penny out of people they can. It’s just the way it is. Show me ANYTHING that they haven’t done that with. It starts slowly, but then fee after fee after fee gets imposed. Look at your bank account. You probably signed up 10 years ago for a no-fee bank account only to find that over the course of time .. fees get imposed. ATM’s used to be free. Now there is a $3.00 fee for using a lot of them. In terms of data rates and premium charging, check out the issues revolving around network neutrality.   How about taxes? They creep in and never go away.
4 – There will be no privacy.
5- everyone will have to be a registered Internet user and assigned an ID
why? Because that’s they way post 9/11 government operates. It doesn’t want any loose cannons. See: http://www.patriotwatcher.com/?p=234. The US Government is even trying to shut down wikileaks. Wikileaks has proven that the government lies and covers things up. The only thing the government can do is shut it down and make the owner heald accountable for .. you know .. exposing it.
6-Advertisements, banner ads, spyware will be everywhere
why? because that’s the way corporations operate. They will slap an advertisement on any piece of property they can. The number of advertisements has only increased in the physical world. Television commercials are nearly 1/2 of your viewing time. A product called ReplayTV used to rival TIVO. It was popular because it had an option to skip recording TV commercials. The Television networks sued them out of existance. You can read about it here. The Internet will be no different. You will NEVER get away from advertisements. Apple Computer has even developed a new Operating System that supports placing advertisements on your desktop: http://osxdaily.com/2010/07/22/apple-developing-ad-supported-operating-system/. It’s not in production yet, but by golly if they can get paid for it, they’ll do it.
The future of the Internet looks bleak. just sayin’
