Imagining Web 3.0: How the Evolution to a Third Generation of the Internet Will Impact Upon the Media Environment

The advanced development of the Internet and the cornucopia of information it provides has only been in existence for just over 18 years. During that time, the Internet has evolved from Web 1.0 or the Information Web, which was characterized by static content. The current version of the Internet, Web 2.0or the Social Web, is defined by online users communicating, contributing and collaborating. This online user collaboration and sharing has resulted in the breaking down of traditional, monolithic methods of communication and content generation. Imagining Web 3.0 seeks to trace the next forecasted phase in the Internet's development, which through intelligent software will allow the Internet to have the power to learn, intuit and decide, giving information found on the Internet well defined meaning.