The Pew Internet & American Life Project recently undertook a massive task (for the fourth time): predicting the future of the internet. They surveyed hundreds of technology experts, who not unsurprisingly, had varied opinions about what the future might hold. Of course, it’s highly unlikely that any of these perspectives is the exact future of the internet, since too much is unknowable. And while some majority opinions surfaced, every topic had experts with opposing viewpoints. It’s easy to both support and negate just about any of the assertions in the report.
But what I find most fascinating and useful about the report is what it says about we view and use the internet
now. In particular, the use of search engines such as Google received prominent focus in the report. How can we use this report to better understand our online audiences? See
the report for full details of the questions and those surveyed. From a search perspective, what I found most interesting about the responses was tha