There have been debates regarding the evolution of the web. The way the web evolved from Web 1.0, where the web used to be mere static pages to Web 1.5, many had considered the evolution was breathtaking which was the era when the web had assumed more dynamic fashion. However, it was only to be overshadowed by the emergence of Web 2.0, or in simple language, SOCIAL MEDIA. Social media has been at the forefront since a number of years now. The aftereffects it has reproduced are breathtaking. Analysts who examine social media and its evolution believe that the web is moving towards what we would call Web 3.0. Essentially, Web 3.0 would be offering more personalization to media consumers which will provide them more liberty to choose the content types they like. It goes beyond the "conventional" (although I don't agree with this terminology!) type of User-Generated Content media consumers are accustomed to. When will Web 3.0 form part of the mainstream?
Since media is becoming more and more fragmented and volatile, competition amongst content providers is becoming fiercer. some plays want to remain ahead of others in the race to achieve superiority. One example I was going to outline here was the emergence of "Gmail Motion" (a prank joke by Google on April 01, 2011), something which I believe could be a major step towards Web 3.0. Google advocated that "Gmail Motion uses your computer's built-in webcam and Google's patented spatial tracking technology to detect your movements and translate them into meaningful characters and commands". It is indeed an eyeopener and I think the race towards Web 3.0 will be on fire now.
A demo of what Google tried to show can be seen right here. ENJOY!
Wasn't "Google Motion" an april fool's joke...?
SvaraRaderaYou are right! It was a joke! But thinking purely about the fact if this can actually be accomplished, wouldnt that be a great accomplishment?
SvaraRaderaThe guy looked a little like Steve Buscemi. Totally devoid of emotions when he did the motions. And wouldn't it be more logical to use an existing sign language like American Sign Language rather than to invent a new? But it was fun as a joke!
SvaraRaderaDetecting motions is nothing new. In game industry we had the "Power glove" for the NES, "Fishing reel" for the SEGA Dremcast and the "Power Pad". Today we have Xbox Kinect, Wii-control and eyetracking - all using your body as a control. Tobii talks about implementing their eye-tracking solution on the pc, in hope it can help the user with usage of the computer. (http://www.tobii.com/pceye)
SvaraRaderaMy point is that i think that the technique has been here for a while and that it's constantly been improved. So "Gmail Motion" is maybe not far away technically, but maybe the user still isn't ready for it.