I am always keen to see how the Web Trend Map evolves over the previous year’s version. The big change this year is the inclusion of influential individuals as participants within the map’s ecosystem. The iA folks are clearly recognising that the web is no longer a purely applications space and that the “social” aspect of computing is gaining relevance not just in the consumer realm, but also in the domain of business – and the enterprise.
Jacqueline Wechsler also points out this zoomable version which makes navigating and inspecting the map much more palatable.
There is certainly plenty to take in. I particularly like the inclusion of aspects of both the Chinese and German web – which is mostly discounted in any global analysis of the online landscape. This just shows how myopic many of us tend to be – but as realtime translation matures, I have a feeling that the trends that are visible for us now will become vastly more fascinating and unpredictable as we are able to consciously embrace and be affected by the web cultures of non-English speaking cultures.
Now THAT is something to look forward to!