Last week, SitePoint blogger and author Brandon Eley predicted that the future will be mobile, and I totally agree. Another area that I believe will blossom in the next twelve months is the localization of the Web.
With the rapid adoption of services such as foursquare, Google Places, Facebook Places, and the like, there is a growing emphasis on geolocation with the Web. Add to this the plethora of mobile applications that use built-in GPS to locate nearby contacts, landmarks, and other places, and you can see why I predict there’ll be an increase in local awareness by websites and web applications.
Businesses that have a predominantly local focus are the ones that will gain the most from a business sense. We should also see more and more marketing through foursquare and similar services.
The advent of mobile web, along with the widespread adoption of social media, means that people are already used to the idea of a completely transportable internet connection in their pockets; they can connect with contacts on the road, down the street, or across the world.
While local Bluetooth and SMS marketing failed to gain the groundswell everyone expected a few years ago, I believe that 2011 will see both consumers and businesses adopting a more local approach to their efforts.
We’ll wait and see. In the meantime, you should start looking at your own business now, and see how you could benefit from such a shift.
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Miles BurkeAs Director of Bam Creative, and Chairperson of the Australian Web Industry Association, Miles spends his time managing his business or speaking about managing businesses. Recently awarded as one of the top Western Australian entrepreneurs under 40 years old, Miles can also be found writing at his blog.
