"The Web is like a car now; the fact that it is moving is no longer interesting. What matters is what we do with it, and where we’re going." Andrian Kreye
When I first started developing websites 15 years ago, users of the internet were kind of like first-time parents - they had this wonderful new thing but weren't really sure what to do with. Many people thought AOL was the internet, and we were all stuck on dial-up (I can barely remember that agony, thank goodness).
At that time, all websites were pretty much glorified online brochures - and glorified they were, with their blinking and twirling animated gifs.
I distinctly remember one of the first signs that my kids' generation would approach life so differently than us oldies. We lived in Jacksonville, FL, and the front yard was full of neighborhood kids running and playing; all of a sudden one of the kids said "let's go talk on AOL" and everybody scattered like ants - running back to their houses to get online and chat with the same kids they had just been playing with outside. I can remember thinking "this is crazy!"
Earlier than that, we watched a movie that was supposed to be about kids in the way distant future when everyone lived in "cities" that were on huge spaceships throughout the galaxy. One of the girls skipped off to play with her friends, but her friends were on another spaceship and they had a virtual playdate; each had a large monitor on the wall, and they each played in their own room and interacted with the others millions of miles away. At the time that seemed on par with "beam me up, Scotty" and now people are using that exact technology to communicate with friends on the other side of the Earth.
It's hard to imagine where technology will take us in 15 more years, but one of our goals is to help our clients get out of the 90's mindset and start using the web to their advantage today. One of the best ways to stretch your imagination is to ask someone 25 or younger, "how can you imagine my site being used?" I'm willing to bet you'll be surprised at some of the ideas, and may just hit on your next big idea.
Keep your mind wide open!