The future is inevitable. This future of the web is inevitable. The web we understand and familiarize ourselves with today is still in its infancy. No one is sure of what the future has in store for the evolution of the internet. However, one can safely assume it will be revolutionary.

The advent of the computer age and more recently the information age has yielded many beneficial technologies to humanity. Many of these technologies have been developed in the last 15 to 20 years. These advances coincide with the period after the introduction of the personal computer. Thus, as our grasp on technology grows, so does the amount information we attain.

Seamless Integration

The Web 3.0 revolution may already have begun. The introduction of “smart” phones may have been the first step towards this revolution. These phones allow individuals to carry data, which in turn can be used on a computer, in a car, or with other smart phones. All of this data is transferred over an ever growing complex network.

Smart phones are the first step in the Web 3.0 revolution, because they allow individuals to seamlessly integrate information across a wide variety of open source operating systems and proprietary operating systems. For the first time, the user is removed from the interaction between devices and operating systems. The work is done with no effort from the user. This removes human error, frustration, and prerequisite understanding of the technologies in use.

This seamless integration between devices, systems, and networks without the need for user interaction will not only become essential to the growing consumer market in the next few years, but it will become expected.

A perfect example of a complex system, which requires little or no effort from the user, is Apple’s iPhone. The iPhone is arguably simple to use. It is compact, yet it is powerful. The iPhone works effortlessly for both PC and Macintosh computers. It works effortlessly on Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Mac OS X. It can sync email, calendars, address books. It allows the user to send text messages and phone calls. The revolutionary aspect of the iPhone is the ratio between its ease of use and computing power. Its seamless integration to the individual’s “personal” network is the key to its simplicity.

Universal Identification

As the world population grows and the access to the internet grows, individuals, companies, and eventually governments will begin to have a need for Universal Identification (UID).

UID will differ between the private, economic, and government sectors. Individuals will have a single identity on the internet. UID will be an aspect of Web 3.0 that will develop overtime. Initially, only individuals will use it to access social networks, news, and entertainment. It will give users a portable identity, and a way to maintain a standardized identity.

UID already exists in a primordial sense. OpenID a user authentication standard is used by companies such as AOL, BBC, Google, IBM, Microsoft, MySpace, Orange, PayPal, VeriSign, Yandex, Ustream and Yahoo!. The OpenID allows users to use a single username and password to access a multitude of sites.

Private insurance and banking companies will also use UID to keep track of individual accounts over the vast network. UID will help users maintain their identity across all spectrums. Unlike a social security number, an individual’s UID will be heavily encrypted and only used on secure networks.

The government will use UID to keep track of citizens and criminals alike. The number will be used to pay taxes, file lawsuits, and keep census reports.

Pervasive Broadband Access

Web 3.0 will also represent the revolution of internet connectivity. Individuals will gain access to the internet from essentially everywhere on earth by means of satellite, public WiFi, or cellular networks.

– Reed Hastings 2006

Multifaceted use of Social Data

The internet allows individuals to seek information, publish information, and edit public information. However, the internet doesn’t currently allow individuals to seek social information and transpose this information with ancillary social data and see the desired results instantaneously.

In an interview about the future of the web, Tim Burners-Lee mentions a scenario where the web will allow a user to see where their friends are, what they are near, and if they are near the user’s favorite diner then to be “intelligent” enough to inform the user that it would be advantageous to arrange to meet them for lunch.

Web 3.0 will give individuals access to social and public data that will allow them to react in real-time. They will know what they need to know about their friends, family, or co-workers and how it relates to them in their current state of being.

Open Source Software and API

A sense of transparency has developed amongst developers in the last few years. This sense of transparency or the sharing of data, research, and development methodology will become common place. Open source projects allow individuals and groups to contribute to the “greater good” of the project.

Oftentimes, open source software and API can evolve to outperform proprietary software. Examples such as Firefox, the iPhone SDK, Gimp, Audacity, and NVU are all examples of open source software that compete or outperform proprietary software.

Open source software, API, and development methodology will be essential to the success of Web 3.0. As the need for ubiquitous simplicity and usability for web applications becomes pertinent, open source software will help bring about revolutionary “outside of the box” thinking required to solve the complex problems of tomorrow.