Internet everywhere - Future Internet Week Countdown (III)

Internet will continue to get more personal. Shortly, we will be able to consult Information services wherever we are. What’s more, the Information will be personalized and adapted to the spot we find ourselves at that moment.

The digital book shop

Imagine walking into a bookshop, scanning the ISBN-number of a book with your smartphone and getting the message you should not buy the book here, but in another bookstore just one block away. There’s a price promotion on that book over there, your smartphone tells you. Of course, your phone also informs you on the shortest way to the other shop. And by the way, your smartphone will tell you what other books that store may have that might interest you.

Does this sound like sci-fi? Perhaps a little, but that fiction is closer to reality than you might imagine. Location-based services are definitely part of the future of internet.

Apps drive the market

There’s a number of factors that are enabling this evolution: ever more people are buying an iPhone or some other type of smartphone that comes with a data subscription allowing them to surf the internet wherever they are. In companies, one out of four mobile handset is a smartphone.

Perhaps the number is even higher for personal use, as companies are reluctant of allowing smartphones onto the corporate network. As the number of smartphones rose, more applications became available, for sale through different app stores. The availability of services is always the best driver for new technologies.

Data subscriptions without limit

The high cost of data connections is one of the show-stoppers towards more smartphone communications. But if European commissioner Neelie Kroes has her way, this will not last. It’s the objective of this Iron Lady of the commission to make sure the flat-fee European data subscription without limits becomes a reality during her tenure as a commissioner. Being able to use a data subscription without limit to the data volume throughout the European Union would give way to a breakthrough for the use of data. The expensive roaming charges are currently prohibitive to using data connections.

Let’s go back to our example of the smartphone telling you where to buy your books. Location based services will go much further than that. Based on your profile, your smartphone will tell you what pub carries your favorite beer and what restaurant serves osso bucco the way you like it.

Your smartphone will also tell you what Facebook-friends are in the same shopping mall.

We are very close to the limits of privacy, of course. Hopefully, we will always be able to decide for ourselves what information we do or do not unveil. I just want to show the possibilities here, not the borders that will no doubt be set up. That is another discussion entirely.

The explosion of data

Companies will struggle to find their own niche in these new ways of customer services. Pricing will become very transparent and shops will need to cater to your personal preferences. This will urge them to collect huge amounts of data. If you thought we have already experienced a huge explosion of data, think again. You ain’t seen nothing yet. Are you looking forward to this?

(José Delameilleure)

From December 13th to 17th, the Future Internet Conference Week takes place in Ghent. Have a glimpse of the future of internet.