“These are exciting times for the web as it sits on the averge of moving on from a basic directory to a dynamic interactive interface, connecting users worldwide. Closed business and social networks will disappear and be replaced by one social network… the web. With communication residing on the web, businesses need tools and applications that enable them to communicate and collaborate in real-time. We’re also starting to see a move away from traditional desktop software solutions to more flexible and lower cost web-based applications, with Google already offering browser-based desktop tools with its Google Apps suite and Microsoft also moving in this direction as it will (soon) be releasing Microsoft Office for the web.
As such, the web browser will play a critical role in the future of communications. It may not be a new technology, but certainly the renewed competition between Apple, Microsoft, Google, and Mozilla (Firefox) for market share demonstrates how important they see the browser being both now and in the future.
Rich presence and the emergence of the likes of Google Wave means that users in the future will be able to truly communicate and collaborate on the web in real-time. For example, when working on shared documents users will be able to see changes on screen as they are being typed rather than having to refresh a page as they go. This will encourage even more efficient working practices between employees, partners, and customers, irrespective of platform or location.
The first 10 years of the web were dedicated to building an information distribution mechanism. Now it is firmly in its second stage whereby it is event-based and relies on persistent and perpetual interaction between users. The web in the future will be much more dynamic with users being able to access the contextual and visual information they require from a continuous flow of real-time information”
source : http://iq.insight.com/the-changing-face-of-the-web/