09 Apr 09 Why a washing machine and two cats are the future of the web.

Tags: internet, orwellian, RFID, semantic web

A few blogposts back I mentioned the 3 big things that I think is going to happen to the internet. One of them was the idea that Standard API will be developed to connect hardware to the internet. As more and more interactions that happen in the real world get sent to the cloud, the greater the semantic web will be able to serve us.

If the cloud automatically knows what products I buy in my nearest supermarket, it can start recommending me products I might like. If I connect my oven to the cloud, it catalogs what recipes I use. It can then start recommending me new recipes that I might find interesting. The list goes on!

Currently, the cloud knows few things. Amongst others it knows what music we listen to. It is currently restricted to actions we do with a computer. The interactions should be extended to things outside the computer: into the real world. It is here where our interactions with the environment can be gathered.

It is already starting to happen. What might seem gimmicky, I believe is the future of the web.

Meet Gus And Penny and PiMPY3Wash. The unlikely candidates for the future of the web. Their interactions are connected to the cloud. While the data they submit is meaningless, the prinicple is spot on. It is only a matter of time before it is expanded to human interactions.

I must admit, all my talking seems Orwellian… Would we give up our privacy for better services? You decide.