2020 Web Vision

Abstract

At the dawn of a new millennium, faith in technology soared following the successful eradication of the potentially paralyzing Y2K bug. Young dot-coms with little experience and possessing few assets other than a concept, flourished boasting market values in the millions and even billions of dollars. Then reality settled in as the market crashed and over a hundred dot-coms perished. The highflying NASDAQ dropped over 60% and the longest economic expansion teetered on the brink of recession. Despite the disconcerting scenario, this was not the demise of the Web, but merely the conclusion of its innocent childhood or the first stage of meteoric growth. After all, the Web was only 10 years old. There were still trillions of dollars worth of opportunities, as the more rigorous applications waited to be accomplished.

The Web is a revolutionary event, yet there is no evident vision of its future. This book projects the Web until the year 2020 and will interest anyone intrigued by the Web, but perplexed by its seemingly erratic course. The book clarifies the murky Web, showing how it will interconnect emerging digital technologies to revolutionize our home, work, and society. In short, 2020 Web Vision will relieve the future shock engendered by the Web. It will also be helpful to those interested in building new applications or investing in future technological enterprises. At the dawn of a new millennium, faith in technology soared following the successful eradication of the potentially paralyzing Y2K bug. Young dot-coms with little experience and possessing few assets other than a concept, flourished boasting market values in the millions and even billions of dollars. Then reality settled in as the market crashed and over a hundred dot-coms perished. The highflying NASDAQ dropped over 60% and the longest economic expansion teetered on the brink of recession. Despite the disconcerting scenario, this was not the demise of the Web, but merely the conclusion of its innocent childhood or the first stage of meteoric growth. After all, the Web was only 10 years old. There were still trillions of dollars worth of opportunities, as the more rigorous applications waited to be accomplished.

The Web is a revolutionary event, yet there is no evident vision of its future. This book projects the Web until the year 2020 and will interest anyone intrigued by the Web, but perplexed by its seemingly erratic course. The book clarifies the murky Web, showing how it will interconnect emerging digital technologies to revolutionize our home, work, and society. In short, 2020 Web Vision will relieve the future shock engendered by the Web. It will also be helpful to those interested in building new applications or investing in future technological enterprises.

About the Author

Robert D. Oberst is an information management consultant who assisted over 25 Fortune 250 companies and served as regional coordinator for a global HR consulting firm. Active in national associations he published works on strategic reengineering and interactive technologies such as the Web. He also lectured to management groups and universities on future technology and conducted corporate visioning sessions. Rob has a BS in Systems Analysis and a MBA.