In its infancy, the World Wide Web consisted of a few thousand websites that provided information to the public. As it grew, businesspeople began to see the potential for ecommerce and the necessity of having portals for information, goods, and services, and venture capitalists poured billions of dollars into businesses that seemed poised on the brink of success. In the late 1990s, of course, the dot-com bubble burst, and only a few shining stars, like Amazon and Google, remained as Internet powerhouses.

The Democratization of the Web

Now that the Web has entered adolescence, new trends have emerged. The most appropriate word to describe the relationship people now have with information is "democratization." To a great extent, people are no longer looking to credentialed experts for information - they're looking to one another. This is evidenced by everything from recommender systems for ecommerce sites ("rate this product" and "what people like you think of this movie," for example) to the proliferation of blogs. The mainstream news media often takes its lead from stories uncovered by bloggers, and has entered the fray by having columnists and pundits maintain blogs on even the most prominent news sites. This democratization of information is often recognized by traditional media, most notably at the end of 2006, when TIME Magazine named "You" as Person of the Year.

The Rise of Video

There's little doubt that the Web has leveled the playing field, in that millions of people have the ability to publish their opinions, research, and virtually anything else on the Web. But as the Internet continues to evolve, it's clear that video is emerging as the new medium of choice for communication. The traditional news media is relying on citizen-journalists to provide footage taken with digital cameras and cell phones for on-the-scene action. Bloggers are increasingly turning to the video blog and video podcast to express their views. Some people are going beyond the YouTube video phenomena and are using video as part of their social networking pages and sites. And many are even bypassing traditional media altogether and engaging in live broadcast to express their views and build an audience.

What's Next?

Although the Web is constantly morphing and changing, experts agree that video will emerge as the key component of virtually all online information and communications. Because an increasing number of people have high-speed Internet access, most computers are now sold with built-in webcams, and most cell phones and digital cameras are capable of shooting videos, video will become even more ubiquitous. Video email is emerging as the next new technology, and experts are forecasting that people will begin to use the Internet differently. For example, instead of utilizing a variety of websites and applications to do a video blog, a video podcast, social networking functions, and video email, people will use a single, secure product that will allow them to everything in one location. Like a virtual studio, these sites will give even those without a high degree of technical knowledge the ability to create and publish video in a wide variety of formats.

It's telling that the "netpreneurs" are finding business opportunities that will allow them to capitalize on this aspect of the Digital Age. There's little question that video is the wave of the future, and that those who are getting in on the ground floor are well positioned to reap significant financial rewards.