As I mentioned in an earlier blogpost the internet is evolving towards a pervasive ubiquitous medium. Last decennium was a strong witness of the rise of social computing where people share, influence and create knowledge. Crowdsourcing such as Wikipedia, but also folksonomies, and social networks are the proof that the collaborative and participative computing platform generates and manages new ideas more effectively. And it does not stop with just knowledge, but extends to many other things such as music (mixmatchmusic.com) and even galaxy shapes (galaxyzoo.org).

And also in 2010 social computing continues to be in focus. But 2010 will go much beyond that. We will also see a much stronger increase in the rise of semantic web applications obtaining more information from combining and linking data from various sources and websites. Mashups of text information will converge towards mashups of different formats of information. Google already integrates other formats with Gaudi voice search and picture integration with their products such as fastflip and newstimeline.

Last decennium also showed the internet reaching out to mobile phones. The number of mobile internet applications increased exponentially, but also showed that social network sites benefitted from the integration of mobile devices as web applications such as Citysense.com and Google latitude using the GPS and mobile network features to share individuals’ physical locations with your friends and colleagues.

But I also strongly believe that 2010 will be the year of the integration of non-mobile devices with the public internet. Devices such as eBook readers and Apple’s much awaited iSlate raise high expectations with the public. I already use myself an internet clock-radio. The green LCD display shows me the time, but it also allows me to listen to radio stations across the globe (even the Antarctica radio station). The device allows me to listen to my favorite podcasts and wakes me up with my latest facebook updates. Or traffic jams RSS feeds during the weekdays which saves me a lot of hassle deciding whether I should take the train or go by car.

Another example is a design I was inspired by combining a number of ideas and showcases that hides the computer and monitor behind mirrored coated glass. This glass allows the computer screen and windows to pass through but turns the appliance in a functional mirror when it is not in use. The thin cupboard in which I stowed my laptop blends seamlessly in the living space and allows me to listen to the news, read the latest headlines, or see the traffic maps at breakfast without any distorting interior distraction.

And even this decorative cover is only one step, I am sure this decennium will complete the era of the pervasive internet in daily life.