Tech chiefs ponder the Internet’s future

By Jon Fortt, Fortune senior writer

HALF MOON Bay, Calif. – Sustainability will influence the next generation of Internet technology, according to Cisco (CSCO) chief technology office Padmasree Warrior.

At Fortune’s Brainstorm Tech conference on Tuesday, Warrior and technology visionaries from Nokia and Xerox sat down with Strategic News Service’s Mark Anderson Tuesday to talk about dealing with information overload, mobile innovation, and the major tech transitions ahead.

One idea that’s likely to get a lot more attention, Warrior said, is doing more while consuming fewer resources. “Sustainability is going to be a great driver,” she noted. “It’s actually innovating for constraints that will drive the next generation of technology.”

Warrior said some of the major innovation trends she’s watching are the Internet’s transition into an entertainment platform, the emergence of communities as a driving force in communication, the power of video as a business tool and the rise of new global economic powers like China and India.

Xerox (XRX) CTO Sophie Vandebroek talked about software her company is cooking up that sifts through oceans of digital information and serves up bits that are most likely to be relevant to the task at hand. For instance, for a law firm it could plow through digitized legal files and pull out information about people and events that are most likely to have an impact on a given case. It’s an attempt to help knowledge workers who are drowning in data. “It’s like food – we have too much food with these all you can eat buffets,” Vandebroek said. “You have to control yourself.”

Nokia (NOK) CTO Bob Iannucci said mobile technology is transitioning from a focus on hardware – handsets, towers and the like – to a focus on software and services. He said mainframes, mini computers and PCs all went through the same changes, and the implications were profound. One of the resulting challenges he’s pondering in a service-oriented mobile world: How do you harness the value of people’s personal information in a way that doesn’t freak them out? Can companies like Nokia give customers access to their data in a way that helps them answer questions and make purchases?

From the audience, Google (GOOG) Chief Internet Evangelist (and Internet pioneer) Vint Cerf pointed out that the way people are beginning to use the mobile Internet is fundamentally different. More than with the PC based Internet, mobile users are likely to get online for information related to where they are and what they’re doing at that moment. Warrior agreed that the tech world will have to pay more attention to that shift: “Context and location awareness will become really important,” she said.

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Filed under Brainstorm: Tech, Nokia, Xerox, cisco, social networks

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I would agree with Bob and Vinton on the mobile Internet space being the next frontier where mass market consumer anytime, anywhere access will bring a wave of opportunity… as well as a sea of change to personal privacy considerations.

As witnessed with the recent mass market hysteria driven by the iPhone factor and by the release of our consumer book ‘Mobile Internet For Dummies’ published by John Wiley & Sons (featured at http://mifd.mobi on either a computer or mobile phone browser); the mobile Internet has gone mainstream… and it’s independent of network or device actually in the hands of over 3 billions consumers world wide right now. I guess the 15+ year old mobile Internet secret is out of the bag. To put it in simple terms, the ‘Walmart’ crowd finally knows what the mobile Internet is… And, they are expecting it to be available to them on any mobile device, on any mobile network and at a very reasonable price.

But as Bob suggested, at what price are consumers willing to pay to maintain control of their personal area network information, location details and service consumption habits is question we, as an industry, need to address. Will consumers ‘opt-in’ to have their personal, business and cultural lifestyles monitored for contextual relevance and potential service price benefits? Not sure they will. When I am on the Internet via my computer, I turn it off when I am done and walk away… On the mobile Internet, I am always ‘on’ at home, the office, at school, at the playground, in a restaurant and while dancing away at a nightclub. Yes, I could turn my phone off like my computer… but I don’t cause I wouldn’t want to miss a call from my Mom and Dad. So basically, I am always on the Net wherever I am… as most mobile consumers are.

To follow on what Vinton said, contextual awareness provokes thoughts of personal information disclosure. How to surf mobile Internet waves through potentially turbulent seas of personal privacy concerns is the question industry vendors, service providers and regulatory bodies will also need to address.

And, my favorite, who will hold the keys to access this personal information? Who will be in charge? Today it’s the wireless carriers like AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, Verizon Wireless, Rogers Wireless, Bell Mobility, Telus and the other carriers… should they really be the gatekeepers? And, who will it be tomorrow?

To answer these questions is to unlock and harness the true power and potential of the mobile Internet… where the answers will come from are yet to be seen.

Maybe we could have the mobile Internet dialogue started at BrainstormTech 2008 followed up at BrainstormTech 2009. Let’s see how far we have come in resolving the queries made by Bob and work together to charter a new course for the next wave of opportunities envisioned by Vinton in the mobile Internet space.

Sounds like you had a great BrainstormTech event – wish I could have been there… maybe next year… By then you will probably know when I landed, what taxi I am taking to get to the conference, when I arrived at Half Moon Bay, where I had lunch and what conference seat I will be in… and maybe, even before I know you do.

And, by the way, I do shop at Walmart… but you probably know that already as well.

Posted By Michael J. O’Farrell, Co-Author Mobile Internet For Dummies, Toronto, Ontario : July 25, 2008 3:00 am

I agree with Warrior’s opinion for major innovation trends in the emergence of communities as a driving force in communication. My company (www.MyOnlineToolbox.com) targets the emerging generation of younger contractors and subcontractors who need a more efficient way of communicating with each other and their customers, namely the homeowner. We believe in communities being tied together even when they are completely mobile.

Posted By Brian Javeline, Pompano Beach, FL : July 23, 2008 2:42 pm

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