Watching brief: web trends
- last updated 2 June2009

• New business models and ideas are reported weekly by a global network of trendwatchers for Springwise and Trendwatching.
• ReadWriteWeb is considering a cluster of new trends on the Web in 2009: open data, structured data, linked data, apps that filter content effectively, real-time, personalization, mobile (especially location-based), and Internet of Things (the Web in real-world objects).
• Morgan Stanle\y report that during the current recession, Internet growth is being pushed along by growth in usage of social networks such as YouTube, increased use of Voice Over IP (eg use of Skype), and use of electronic payment systems such as PayPal, and internet bankinbg.
• Some key organisations which report on internet marketing trends make summaries of their observations freely available - see PFSK , Influential Marketing (blog), Larry Chase
• Jim Carroll suggests 10 Things You Need to Do to Innovate In A Recession
• Micropayments - an idea whose time is rapidly approaching (at last)
  The Latest development: easier-to-use technology that allows web sites to accept tiny payments [and more here] by effectively processing them in batches, thereby cutting down on bank fees. Trial online systems of micropayments here. More here - bitcents, launched in October 2009, aims to make it simpler for publishers to charge for their content, offers an easy to integrate micropayment system.
• Overview of web business models and why they do/don't work
  according to Jakob Neilson
• Marketing Sherpa reports that your best ROI from internet marketing is most often achieved from.... in-house email marketing. Your worst ROI is from banner advertising -- here's an explanation of why banner ads don't work .
• The dominant trend in e-advertising at the end of 2008 ia that online advertising spending is being directed toward paid search, email and online video.
  
• E-commerce Best Practices -- what works, what doesn't and why
  Learn from what others have done. Online sales web sites succeed best when they combine decent search capabilities and detailed product information with high-quality images of products PLUS a system that allows people to complete transactions easily. Peterme analyses the salient features of such ecommerce components as product listings, shopping carts, search engines and account registration interfaces; ZDnet reviews ecommerce sites which exemplify the best (and worst) of ecommerce practice.
• ReadWriteWeb reports on two recent panels which summarise ecommerce trends at the end of 2008. Target niche customersto increase revenues, and tap into recommendation networks to increase qualified traffic.. .
• Online customer support -- live chat, 800 numbers, online forms, FAQs, technical support database interfaces... Read this article, find out how to enhance your web site's customer experience provision, and how to develop your Privacy Policy
• Advice about email marketing from ClickZ, OptIN News.
  
• E-business trends predicted for 2007 by e-marketers
• Innovation in mobile products and increases in availability of mobile services during 2008 seem likely to have an impact on the wealth of companies such as Nokia, Apple, AT&T, RIM, Thomson Reuters and Motorola. By 2020, mobile devices will be the primary connection tool to the internet for most people according to a 2008 Pew study.
• Wilson Web's Ecommerce Research Room
  43+ categories of current research information about ecommerce.
• According to a report on consumer behaviour by Akami, four seconds is the longest that online shoppers are prepared to wait for a site to load before backing out of the transaction.
• A web site CMS [content management system] is used to put content onto your web site and maintain (update, add, delete) it as cheaply and simply as possible. The choice is between a system bought off-the-shelf or one developed/customised for your site. Current industry experience suggests that a custom-built web content management system can produce far better returns than today's costly, inflexible commercial package; and that the best-known and most flexible systems (from vendors such as Vignette, Interwoven) are only cost effective for very large-scale Web sites. If you are planning to convert everything you handle via computers to a CMS you will need to consider issues to do with content migration and scalability.
• Broadband internet connections have associated data security risks which require careful security measures to be taken. For more information see: news.com article; guide to broadband fortunes; Creative Good guide to the customer experience of wireless internet ; WiFi (wireless fidelity) explained and trends noted; greater use of broadband results in greater online spending
• Alarming increases in volume of spam and numbers of viruses, makes antivirus software, spyware and a firewall a must -- read this New Yorker essay about spam
• Affiliate marketing programmes let you earn commission for sales made of specific products on web sites with which you have established an affiliate relationship. Such programmes enable a company with a sales-oriented web site work to with affiliates to increase their sales. An advertising banners or text link is placed on the affiliate site, and when a clickthrough results in a sale, a referral fee or specific percentage of the sale is credited to the affilate. See: Affiliate Programs overview
• Predictions for the future of web sites as seen by net guru Jakob Neilson
• XML vs HTML: XML and HTML were designed with different goals - XML is complementary to HTML, not a replacement for it. HTML is used to format data for a web browser to display. XML is used to structure and describe that data, and can be used to store data inside HTML documents, files and databases. XML can be used as a format to exchange information, and can facilitate data manipulation over the Web. See: xml.com.
• The importance of sound web site information architecture
  In this informative interview, Lou Rosenfeld and Peter Morville from Argus Associates offer this definition: "Information architecture involves the design of organization, labeling, navigation, and searching systems to help people find and manage information more successfully."
• Monetization will continue to be a buzzword for startups and micro-enterprises
• Trends of interest to web designers -- monthly breakdowns for browsers, screen resolutions and colour depth
• Predictions for women as an online market and force in 2009
• The Big Picture - web commerce survey findings and internetstats
  1. by Internetstats - also the cost of web site ownership
• Why Google is still the best search engine
  according to ClickZ. This week's most popular search terms on Google http://www.google.com/press/zeitgeist.html