I believe the Internet is moving in a different direction. I think the Internet moves in parallel with the speed of information. We are at a tipping point with that information flow.
For the first 10 years, the closest we could get to real-time information was probably via email. Over the past 5 years, some web sites provided information and news at a decent pace via users, technology, or reporters (ie. Digg, Google News, CNN), but nothing spectacular. Well, now, with Twitter, Facebook, and all of the easily accessible feeds publishing and following real-time information flow, the Internet is moving towards a new form of communication.
Where this method of communication will go, I do not know. I am not sure if Twitter and Facebook will last, but the trend they have started will.
One important note is that the information may not have to be on domains any more. Tweetdeck or Seesmic Desktop may be the next “Internet Explorer”, not Chrome or Firefox. How long until Facebook builds a desktop app that includes a browser in it?
As information moves to real-time, it has slowly begun to move outside of the browser. Mobile Apps are more popular tools than your browser on your phone.
There is a huge market here for the “next browser”, but I do not think we have even gotten close to finding it yet. I think real-time information demand will drive the creation of it at some point over the next 3-5 years.
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You can almost ‘feel’ the speeding up of the net now that most of our visible world has been cached. Like my remote backup, the incremental additions go fast.
The paradigms are in play and the domain system, and user habits, are not as rigid as some think. Subdomains and usernames on social networks, brandTLDs, ccTLDs as equals, search engines that’ll soon own all address bars, all will all shape what emerges.
I think you’d be interested in what we’re building. We’re a startup in Palo Alto getting ready for the next big thing. A mutual friend sent me a link to this blog and I think we have exactly what you envisioned. http://pip.io invite code PIPIOBETA. Take a look and e-mail us if you have any questions, would be happy to give you a private demo.