This question can be approached from 2 different angles, the evolution of web technology on one hand (web 3.0, semantic web, 3D web…) and the evolution of web usage on the other hand.
The point on which all the actors of the web agree is a simple observation: The internet has already undergone several changes since its creation and others are yet to come.
What is web 1.0, web 2.0?
Since 1995, Web 1.0 has been built in a pyramidal way. Webmasters write and layout information, Internet users are only receivers without any power and any real possibility of response except for forums and emails. In the era of Web 1.0, the Internet user is passive. The production and hosting of content is mainly carried out by companies and web agencies, the pages are static, and the updates of information are very random. Web 1.0 is, therefore, the era of the static web.
We then talk about Web 2.0 from 2003, gradually Internet users become active players, in the meantime, the number of individuals having access to the web is multiplied by 5 (from 500 Million in 2003 to more than 2.2 Billion in 2013).
As they navigate, Internet users add content through hypertext links and other tags, annotations or comments. Internet users create content through the emergence of blogs, wikis (Wikipedia is the largest wiki on the Web) and citizen newspapers such as Agoravox.
Web 3.0, semantics, 3d, yes, but still…
Some studies and sources allow us to date the periods of the different versions of the Web (web 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, 2.5, 2.B …, web 3.0), they sometimes appear contradictory. It is indeed more accurate to talk about the Web era (without obscuring the Marketing aspect) by considering periods as spaces of time until historians look at the subject.
What more does Web 3.0 has in store for us?
Web 3.0 is, therefore, the next significant evolution of the internet, significant trends are already making it possible to define its main outlines, others think we are already there!
The production of web 3.0 will be perfectly compatible with all devices (mobile friendly). Regarding technology, it will solve interoperability problems between online services, isolated user communities, etc. All software applications will be accessible online (Cloud Computing) and will adapt to the terminals used, which means merging the three existing Internet worlds: 3D Internet (fusion of the traditional Internet with mobile Internet and the Internet of Things: with RFID chips, QRcode, television, refrigerators, clock radio, etc.).
The 3D web, the one that consists in displaying content in 3 dimensions, already exists. We call it “interactive 3D” content, this display technology will initially become widespread for virtual tours (the Louvre), games, panoramas… before being distributed more widely.
With the Semantic Web (Data Web or Linked Data: Tim Berners-Lee from W3C) all sites will be linked in one way or another. Thus we will be “on file,” in particular through our navigation, our different profiles, our relationships and our comments on social networks; the era of king marketing in short…
The sites are invaded by contextual advertisements related to the documents consulted and our consumption habits. Search engines will become more “intelligent” and the results more targeted.
Beyond these “material and technological” aspects, our Internet environment is gradually transforming into a real information ecosystem in which we will be completely immersed.
The Internet will always be with us and why not in us? We will be constantly “geolocated,” and our consumption patterns scrutinized and even shared automatically. We will be informed on an ongoing basis according to our interests and the opportunities to be seized during all our travels.