Predictions are fun and something we take quite seriously at Jungle. Whether we’re speculating on the winners of the Euro 2012 Championships or wondering when somebody will bring a “Back to the Future” hover board to market, we love partaking in a little crystal ball gazing.
When it comes to Internet predictions things get really exciting. In just a decade the Internet has exploded into our lives bringing with it social media, online gaming, catch-up TV, downloadable movies, and much more to distract us from life as we knew it. What was once used as a simple communications tool has now become a daily necessity for so many people.
Here are a few of our predictions for the Internet in 2013. These are just for fun, but who’s to say that some won’t come true? And if they don’t, we can come back next year and laugh at how far off the mark we were.
General web & tech
- Nearly everybody starts using Google Chrome in favour of Internet Explorer. This gives web designers more freedom to design outside the restrictions of IE. Firefox releases a major update, but it’s not good enough to knock Chrome from the top spot. Opera gains more popularity, but stays in its niche.
- Windows 8 is released, but doesn’t take off until consumers start to buy touch laptops. Windows-based tablets are released with much anticipation, but don’t have a hope of catching up with Apple iPad sales.
- More and more kids have debit cards causing game makers to take advantage of ‘pocket money’ gaming transactions.
- Films look great on 48fps/3D TV, but 3D cinema continues to dominate the 3D market.
Social media
- Facebook – The Facebook IPO drama has settled down and people continue to boost its popularity and profits. A further redesign (not as large as Facebook Timeline) causes the normal gnashing of teeth. No Facebook phone is launched despite rumours, but Facebook do buy into a number of promising mobile apps. And if Facebook does launch a phone, it will be awful.
- Google – Google+ continues to grow chasing hot on the heels of Twitter. However, its popularity seems to be stronger in the business community helping it to settle into a comfortable niche.
- Twitter – Twitter’s popularity wanes a little, but it is still the darling of the entertainment and media industries.
- Foursquare – Location services provided by Facebook and Twitter push Foursquare off of the top spot in its niche and its popularity suffers.
- Pinterest – Pinterest enjoys steady growth, but requires an innovation injection to encourage more sign-ups.
- Instagram – No longer considered edgy and cool now that your Nan has it on her phone!
Mobile Tech
- Rumours of battery life breakthroughs come to nothing and everybody is starting to get a little impatient.
- Google releases Android 5.0, possibly called ‘Jellybean’ and also another Motorola Android device which is unbelievably good. However, the Android market continues to be driven by Samsung. Samsung responds to consumer demand by releasing a cheap but decent Android phone further pushing its market share.
- Apple drops the numbers and simply releases a new iPhone called “iPhone”. The new phone has a new suite of multi-touch gesture support options and pushes the use of iCloud a little more. Apple have dropped some of the Google interaction tools such as Maps. Google don’t seem particularly worried.
Predicting the future for the Internet and technology is exciting and we’ll be bringing you the latest web and tech news in the coming months. We’d also love to know what you think about our predictions and if you have any of your own.
