Hi BL
I agree with all that you said and also see an eroding of privacy as one of the main spin-offs of current Internet trends. But no to become too Big Brotherish in our thinking, I see the following as trends:
I see VoIP becoming widespread because audio-visual communication is becoming much more widespread and will probably become the standard in a few years – why only speak to someone if you can see them as you speak?
Cell phones are becoming mini-computers in their own right and with servers processing the information, rather than the cell phone handset, the sky is the limit.
With increased bandwidth the use of the internet for entertainment will become more widespread in SA. The logical conclusion to this is that we might soon see the demise of the national broadcaster just as we have seen – in the past 10 years - the demise of the national airline as a world phenomenon. BBC and SABC, to name just two, will obviously adapt or die.
E-commerce will accelerate. Paperless transactions in the airline-bookings industry are now a reality.
Social networking has gone past being a craze for teenagers and young adults, and a number of sites now give advice on etiquette for electronic social networking in business.
Online gaming has gone professional with, mostly young, people playing for reward over the net.
