A few years ago the development of robust e-commerce solutions changed the retail dynamic. The mail order industry turned into the online shopping industry. Hundreds of thousands of companies added e-commerce functionality to their websites. And the demand for resources skyrocketed as more and more highly encrypted transactions happened every second. Now fundamental changes to the architecture of computers is again reshaping the way the Internet works, which will cause millions of companies to adjust their websites again. If you plan to be among them and you use a local web host, it's a good idea to make sure they're keeping up with the times.
Technology is trying to make the Internet as intuitive as possible, while economic demands are trying to make it as impulsive as possible. For the tech industry, the perfect Internet would be one that knows what you want before you do and that buys it before you realize you don't need it.
Consequently, now when you're browsing around online, odds are your browser is learning what you like. Some of that information you volunteer. For example, social media sites allow you to volunteer that you "like" something, as a way of showing support. Some of that data, however, you do not provide - at least not intentionally.
For example, hundreds of media sites have connected the media they present online to social networks so that when you're logged into your social network and view one of their pages, it automatically lets your friends know that you viewed it. If you "like" a restaurant in town to show your support and a friend of yours searches for "restaurant" in your town, the restaurant you like will show up higher on his search results.
This stuff is what I call "draconian cool." It is cool. You can't deny that. It makes the experience of the Internet hugely more intimate; it shrinks its massive size down through the same personal filters that we use to shrink the real world. But it's also weirdly Orwellian. I'd kind of like to think of my business as being my business; I don't like the idea that everything I do is being recorded and studied.
What can be seen from social media is emblematic of a fundamental shift. As computers get faster they can handle more data. That means they're hungry for data. As they digest more and more of it they become better able to deliver more of what you want while requiring less and less direct input from you.
An intuitive Internet requires more of the companies that operate websites on it, however. As a user's behavior on his most frequently visited sites teaches those sites how to make his time there most productive for him and for them, he falls into a "like bubble," or an experience of the Internet that is increasingly filtered by his preferences. To get his attention, companies somehow have to access that like bubble.
More and more, it takes immense data power to remain relevant, and relevance is everything on the Internet. A smaller web host might provide a more intimate business relationship and probably offers much better customer service than a big one, but they might also have more trouble keeping up with the increasing demands of an ever-bigger, ever-faster Internet.
Technology is trying to make the Internet as intuitive as possible, while economic demands are trying to make it as impulsive as possible. For the tech industry, the perfect Internet would be one that knows what you want before you do and that buys it before you realize you don't need it.
Consequently, now when you're browsing around online, odds are your browser is learning what you like. Some of that information you volunteer. For example, social media sites allow you to volunteer that you "like" something, as a way of showing support. Some of that data, however, you do not provide - at least not intentionally.
For example, hundreds of media sites have connected the media they present online to social networks so that when you're logged into your social network and view one of their pages, it automatically lets your friends know that you viewed it. If you "like" a restaurant in town to show your support and a friend of yours searches for "restaurant" in your town, the restaurant you like will show up higher on his search results.
This stuff is what I call "draconian cool." It is cool. You can't deny that. It makes the experience of the Internet hugely more intimate; it shrinks its massive size down through the same personal filters that we use to shrink the real world. But it's also weirdly Orwellian. I'd kind of like to think of my business as being my business; I don't like the idea that everything I do is being recorded and studied.
What can be seen from social media is emblematic of a fundamental shift. As computers get faster they can handle more data. That means they're hungry for data. As they digest more and more of it they become better able to deliver more of what you want while requiring less and less direct input from you.
An intuitive Internet requires more of the companies that operate websites on it, however. As a user's behavior on his most frequently visited sites teaches those sites how to make his time there most productive for him and for them, he falls into a "like bubble," or an experience of the Internet that is increasingly filtered by his preferences. To get his attention, companies somehow have to access that like bubble.
More and more, it takes immense data power to remain relevant, and relevance is everything on the Internet. A smaller web host might provide a more intimate business relationship and probably offers much better customer service than a big one, but they might also have more trouble keeping up with the increasing demands of an ever-bigger, ever-faster Internet.
About the Author:
I'm a web expert specializing in website hosting. To learn more, here's a great starting point: accuwebhosting.com.
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