Speaking as communication scientist (which I studied somewhere in my past), I think the first change to observe is that once in a while the media people use to communicate alter.

Egbert Jan Sol (now TNO) once told that story in terms of ‘mobility’: first horses & carts, then auto-mobiles & trains, then data over a phone line and now much more data faster over the internet.

Another way to think about it is in terms of ‘media grammar’: every generation grows up with its own (radio = audio; tv = audio/video; internet = speech-as-text and increasingly audio-video, especially with on-line games).

Both the ‘mobility’ and the ‘media grammar’ line of thinking do not imply that media necessarily go away. What does happen all the time though is that the mix changes. I think we’re about to witness another such change, which is from the internet use taking place outside of physical interaction (behind your screen) towards the internet becoming part of your real-time experience. (Something similar has already happened with videogames, where the internet connection introduces other players from somewhere else into your game at home).

In my opinion, what is important here is a fundamental shift of ‘broadcast’ media (a ‘sender’ distributes massively without actually caring for a sensible impact on the ‘receivers’) to some sort of ‘real connection’- or ‘playful contact’-approach, where ‘meaningful interaction’ is all that matters.

‘Augmented reality’ is sort of an alternative to ‘ambient intelligence’ (the environment knows who you are and can anticipate what you want) and ‘ubiquitous computing’ (computers everywhere). Sony is pursuing it for the Playstation3, have a look at the link I inserted. The US Army had a huge project on ‘Force XXI’: using what they call ‘network capability’ in the field of battle (people have ‘visors’ that project data provided through an internet connection onto what they really see). The iPhone now has an app where it puts mosquitos in your living room and you have to shoot them (on-screen). I think that type of functionality is coming to us, quite soon.

Am I still making sense? That was a bit of a long response…?

Looking forward to hearing from you!
C

I don’t think it’s going to be web 3.0 (firstly, because that’s too predictable; secondly, because I think any linear progress from web 2.0 will take us in the wrong direction or rather a direction few people will buy…).

I think it may go in a different direction: towards augmented reality – which is still too technological and for the gadgetophiles. If augmented reality were to become more accessible, it would be more in the right direction: it’s not about the technology, not about the gadgets. Increasingly the question will be: what does a connection with the web / hyperreality offer as an extra functionality right here right now. My term for that is ‘ reality 1.5′ (more as a sidestep to the 1.0, 2.0, 3.0 track while pointing towards people’s lives than anything else).

What do you think about that route?

Good luck with the exploration!

CJ