I have constructed a Top 10 list of what I feel are the hottest new web technologies now and for the near future. All of them are worth considering for your next web site project. Here is Part 1 of that list. Be sure to stop back next month for Part 2.

1. The Semantic Web (evolving technology)

I wrote an article not too long ago about the future of Web 3.0 (a.k.a. the Semantic Web). Semantic Web is about servers talking to other servers to make a relational interpretation of a question. Soon you will be able to type a direct question into your web browsers and retrieve a direct answer. On the Semantic Web, this will be done with categorized tagging. So say you type in the question "What is Ajax?" and you mean the programming language, not the floor cleaner. A series of questions will pop up to help you narrow down your search. You may be asked what type of Ajax and from there be directed to the proper realm for asking your question. This will ultimately save you a great deal of time by reducing the number of fruitless Google searches you have to go through to get your answer.

So when will this happen? Sooner than you may think. The tools are already developed and while it may take time to assimilate the data of the entire web, we are only a few years off from seeing the Semantic Web become a reality. Read more.

2. Online Television and Video (now and evolving)

You may have noticed that online video has been improving in leaps and bounds recently. Most web hosting services now support online video and streaming video (video that downloads while playing simultaneously) has become the norm. So much in fact, that Google has recently purchased the wildly popular YouTube.

We already have websites that can actually stream television programs and full-length feature movies. It's easy to see that video and internet television will become even more powerful with higher quality imagery, personalized sharing and more. The only question that remains is what will happen to news programs such as ABC and NBC when the internet and television really begin to merge? Some people are still leary of streaming current video content directly onto their website for fear of slowing down their server. If you don't have a high powered server, a viable alternative is to embed YouTube videos directly onto your website. It will look like the video is playing on your site even though it's actually being pulled from YouTube's servers and not affecting your own server's bandwidth restrictions. Of course, more sophisticated companies may prefer to pay for streaming video services or at least pay a web hosting company that has the bandwidth to stream videos properly.

3. Geolocation (now and evolving)

Geolocation has been in development since 1999. The basic approach is to begin by identifying a user's IP address (a simple feat for any web developer). Once the IP address has been established, the user's location is easily identified. This is one of the pre-constructs already in place for the Semantic Web, in which specific goods, services, etc. can be found based upon the user's current location. Google already utilizes geolocation in their local business results. Try typing in "Pizza" to Google and pizza parlors in your area will come up under the local business results.

Some topics may not yet incorporate local result listings, but I typed in "heat treaters" to Google and got the same number of results. This API web application can be used on your exisiting website as well.

One day I may write more specifically on this technology, but in the meantime this is a useful technology to implement now.

4. Autofill For Fields (now)

We've all seen this – type part of your name or address into a form field on a website and the rest of the information appears automatically. This usually comes from settings already in your browser, but nowadays you may see information appear that you never searched for before. In Google, this is based upon the most popular choices from what you are typing. For instance, begin to type in Google and a dropdown list of pre-defined searches appears based on the number of characters you have already chosen. This technology is also available on exisiting websites and can in fact be placed on your own business's website.

Let's say a potential client is on your site searching for a specific type of bearing. He or she may begin by typing the word "bearing" and a list of all bearing types will appear based on popularity or based on whatever criteria you have chosen as most important. Of course, the user does not have to select from the dropdown list but it may give them a better selection criteria to assist them with their search. As Semantic Web falls into place, we will be able to add server-side autofills that are based upon member users' criteria.



5. Mobile Technology (now and evolving)

Last month, I wrote on the expansion of mobile technology. Smart phone and iPhone development has grown ten-fold just in the last couple of years. As a developer, it's important to determine what your website will be viewed on and be able to optimize your work to accommodate specific browsing environments.

It's becoming more common to hire developers to build custom apps for users with iPhones or to create a custom web display specifically for mobile phones. Wireless web use will continue to rise drastically over the next few years. Read more.

Be sure to visit again next month when I present the rest of my Top 10 Web Technologies list. In the meantime, don't hesitate to contact me if you'd like to learn more about implementing these techniques on your company's website.

Contact Leif at lfifer@praxisagency.com.