Killer App: How the Promise of the Internet Died

[Guest]

Many of us remember the exciting Internet as the arena for the free exchange of ideas, debate and sharing of creativity, news, commerce etc.

The Internet once held the promise of a more democratic world. Everyone would have a voice, a medium, to share ideas and thoughts on.

Instead of pointing at commerce as the culprit for killing the Internet I will point at large corporations exploiting people's inherent laziness.

 

Once Apple and Google introduced apps to the world more and more percentage of user eyeballs were now locked into the apple or google app bubble world. I remember being told about the "halo effect" of buying an Apple device which I love. I use these great devices to use the Internet still. If you are reading this story... then so do you. Congratulations.

But the question really is... How did you get to this page?

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Forums would also simultaneously be ignored as Facebook.com would become an app and actually become the de facto Internet for most people.

Apple would purposely handcuff it's iOS browser in order to make developers use apps.

The browser wars have never ended. This is a race for people's eyeballs.

 

Google searches for news would start to slide.

Forums like this would try to add more functionality to compete with social media and would see readership and engagement suffer over time.

 

Information is power. True. But we should update this saying to something like.... Power is controlling the flow of information to the masses of people.

The pen truly is mightier than the sword. 

 

How will this story end? Will ever faster connections make apps (which are basically caches) disappear in favor of fully functional browsers?

Will another dominant player arise?

Will Google empower the people again as it did with Windows Office subjugation?

We live in interesting times.