We’ve succeeded in bringing commerce to the internet.  We’ve gone beyond that actually; we’ve made the internet the starting point for so many endeavors.  When movie-goers want to see what’s playing and when, they’ll visit IMDB, Fandango or even the internet version of MovieFone.  Does anyone even use paper maps anymore?  And no, not the kind that can be printed from Google Maps…the kind that are impossible to fold perfectly once opened, that’re big enough to be spread out over a car’s hood?  No, we use GPS devices, and frankly, even those are outdated now that we can get the same job done with our phones.

Words like Google and Paypal have become verbs in our vernacular: “I googled you,” or “You can paypal the money” have replaced “I searched for you” and “You can wire me the money.”  So what’s next?  How much further can we move into the internet, how much easier can it make our lives?  The answer is probably not very much.  We’ve reached the pinnacle of convenience, and though more convenience tools will always be under development, aside from implanting the internet into our brains, how much more convenient can it get (after February 2009’s digital transition, of course)?

True mastery of the internet and its capabilities does not end at creating the ultimate conveniences.  Truly the bounds are limitless.  In an earlier blog entry we looked at how while the markets that rely on a physical presence are declining while markets that work through the internet are thriving.  Mastery of the internet will lead to a stronger virtual economy through the added convenience of some of our latest innovations.

But what about the individual business?  E-mail marketing has reduced our focus on physical mailings (and it’s more effective too!).  Programs like Google’s Adwords will ultimately replace the need to telemarket, for it’s less random, less expensive, and more effective.  Internet marketing though is still young, in the grand scheme of things.  Just as ancient man curiously explored what happens when metal is heated, leading to the Iron and Bronze ages, just as the first search engines tenaciously began to catalog and sort as many websites as possible, so have we begun with internet marketing.

We’ve surpassed the data gathering and analysis stages.  We know internet marketing is effective and less costly than buying billboards and tv spots…else we would have stopped by now.  But to truly master the internet, we must transform it into an organic, intuitive experience.  The Net needs to almost think like a human.  Our searches can’t be based solely on popularity, nor can they be based solely on content.  Neither alone are enough.  We have to develop new methods that build on those we’ve already built, combining that organic feel with the logic of our algorithms.

The internet has made communications more brief.  Instead of writing, “That’s funny!  I’m laughing so hard!” we write short hand like “LOL.”  We’ve reached a point where we can send whole thoughts without spelling out more than three words.  “I’m hanging w/BFF, brb & ttyl,” translates to, “I’m hanging out with my best friend, I’ll be right back and I’ll talk to you later.”  Granted it’s doubtful so many abbreviations will find a home in business communications, whether it be business to consumer or business to business (B2B!), but incorporation of the internet into the world of business and marketing has sped things considerably, and will continue to do so because people are always available online, because they can take their buddylists and email with them on their smart phones.

So how do we get there?  Like the brilliant minds and pioneers that have come before us, we need to move forward without fear that we might not succeed right away.  Fortunately, advancing the internet doesn’t involve any experiments that could harm us physically (such as flying the first airplane), so fear of getting hurt in that facet doesn’t even exist.  What do we stand to lose?  Money?  Time?  In the world of business, time is money, so they’re really the same thing.  What we must remember is that every step takes us closer to achieving the next level in the evolution of the internet.  Even we personally do not succeed to the end we may hope for, the next person can apply what we’ve learned, and maybe combined, those efforts will lead to success.  In that way, money and time have not been wasted.