Tom Jenkins, executive chairman of Open Text recently commented on the onset of web 3.0 and his predictions for web 4.0. Jenkins noted that, “digital natives, described as extremely tech-savvy Web users aged 30 and below, cannot demand enough of new gadgets and applications that tout productivity and time savings. It is this demand that is driving the early arrival of Web 3.0, or the Semantic Web.”

Jenkins predicts that web 4.0 will be upon us in five years: “Virtual environments are no longer restricted to research labs, and that pair of 3D glasses for movies may be used more often than ever.” Jenkins explains web 4.0 as avatar-based virtualization, stating, “Think of a virtual world–all I need is an avatar to represent me–I have a hand globe and virtual 3D glasses, and I can just walk into the cloud.”

Jenkins also commented upon the increasing need for knowledge management and the danger for companies of ignoring social media: “About 45 percent of firms globally ban employee access to social media sites.” Jenkins warns that such companies will eventually “lose their competitiveness” and urges the development of company policies to guide social media use.

Image: Courtesy Flickr/ Phillie Casablanca

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