The Internet’s evolution has been remarkable for the last ten years. From the proliferation of social network sites to virtual communities populated by ’second-life’ netizens, the internet has indeed been proven as a powerful tool beyond just a communications medium. And because more and more people around the world have access to the internet, the thin line that divides what is online from that of offline is becoming a blur. What pretty much happens offline become blog posts, get twittered, or in the case of Facebook, liked.

Let’s look at what internet prophets say are the top three trends happening in the internet landscape:

1. Crowdsourcing- Let us never underestimate the power of the user. Crowdsourcing takes a task that was historically done by an individual and extends it to the community for completion. In other words, crowdsourcing allows sharing of information to produce user-generated contents which result to reduced cost and increased productivity. Examples are Wikipedia, which is an online encyclopedia freely edited by the mass in 25 languages;  iStock Photo, which is a buy and sell portal of amateur and professional photos; and not to forget  the phenomenal Youtube site, which allows users to broadcast themselves to the world.

2. Consumption in Pieces - In this new generation of all ‘instants‘, users’ attention spans will support shorter and shorter pieces of content. Along with gulping down instant coffee and slurping instant noodles, net users also take in bits and pieces of web information according to its impact and relevance to their personal activity/profession. Youtube’s average viewing session amount to only five to six pieces of video contents. Microblogging is also rising to become a new trend, with Twitter and Windows Live as top examples among Singapore netizens.

3. Augmented Reality - Anybody can now imagine and create his/her own reality with the aid of computer graphics. The concept of augmented reality or AR has actually long been utilized in the entertainment and gaming fields, but only a few adaptors has made AR take off to its full potential. A combination of real life and virtual elements can definitely make way for a lot of possibilites. Watch the video to learn more about the AR concept:

Change is so frequent that few have the knowledge to mine the commercial opportunities that are out there. The Internet is rapidly changing and only the fearless who won’t allow themselves to be left behind will be the first ones to benefit.

dLive Media is the exclusive sales representative of Microsoft (MSN/Windows Live) in Singapore. To learn how you can make advertising work for your business, email adsales@dlivemedia.com