5 key questions on the real-time web @LeWeb conference
I am excited to be attending LeWeb, the top European web conference that kicks off in Paris today.
Leweb has become in a short time the best way to measure the pulse of the Internet in Europe and the theme this year is the real-time web. With companies like Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, Ning, Twitter, SixApart and many more trying to own and monetize our digital identities and data streams, I am hoping to find here some initial answers to 5 key questions surrounding the real-time web:
- Monetization: what are viable options that could attract advertisers/business users, what are bearable options that users will put up with
- Managing signal/noise: with incredible amounts of data becoming available to search engines and via APIs… who is going to develop effective filters and innovative data display options to ensure this new way of communicating does not become overwhelming?
- Getting to the mass-market: although it is early days for the real-time web, usage is still dominated by techies, celebrities and companies. With the exception of Facebook, it is hard to see mass-adoption for the average user of real-time content. Can these platforms develop and communicate a clear compelling user value proposition?
- Global perspective: as always, American companies are leading the way in this new technologies… but what are the European and Asian startups that could emerge as winners in this landgrab?
- Moving beyond people status updates: keeping in mind the infinite possibilities of IP-connected devices and RFID systems, when are we going to start seeing compelling implementations of platforms that connect not just people, but also objects and devices?
Let’s see how far our web industry has gotten in starting to answer these questions… there are some nice profitable business models to be found if we resolve some of the constraints that these questions represent.
