Will the New Internet and Mobilisation Prevent Depression?

Microsoft and some of the other big internet players have realised that the internet will stall without identity and trust. Web 2.0 or whatever they call it this week, is just like the real world. Linden Labs 'get a life' stalled pretty quickly without it and they had to go to IBM to try and help them fix it. Linden's problem wasn't all ID, there was a scalability issue, but it was dead in the water without ID and trust. Given that IBM isn't a security company, they just buy a few security companies and hey presto it's fixed. It hasn't worked too well in the real world so far and my usually optimistic view is tempered by that, so I don't expect much revolution there. At least IBM was thought to be worth resurrecting from the dead by consumers in a survey reported by Chris Skinner.  If they succeed maybe they can come back from the dead in the minds of the consumers.

A lot of money has gone into social networking, but without that essential infrastructure - ID, so our kids are in danger from perverts and our information is skimmed by 'phoragers', the latest term for criminals who collect personal data from sites like Facebook and Myspace, in order to perpetrate fraud. Second Life failed because of it and the internet is failing to reach it's promise too. Microsoft and many other digitally dependent companies have a lot at stake in preventing an internet recession. Can they do it? Probably not without some help.

The response to Microsoft from the bloggers out there has been somewhat negative and it remains to be seen if they can get anyone on the team. The internet held a lot of promise for everyone. FIs would save money with online banking and make a motza from all that internet commerce. Well it didn't quite get up a full head of steam and appears to have hit the hill. The effect of an internet downturn will be devastating to the current players and some of them must already be running out of money. We could see none of the favourites remaining within a year or two and have to wait until the next generation of Web companies are born and provided with the essential infrastructure to do business - ID and trust, before the internet delivers it's promise.

The recession will certainly sort out the impossibly expensive to deploy solutions which have failed to find traction even in boom times, so we may see some revolutions in capital and brands when we move into Web 3.0. The whole system is flawed and the masters of it have finally smelled the rot, but who will have the courage to do what it takes to solve the problem? It is certainly going to require a lot of money, at a time when it may not easily flow, so there are definitely going to be some losers who can't make the team, who will they be?

It is blindingly obvious that a solution is required or Second Life and Social Networking will just seem like a previous life and IBM might really be dead, not just in the minds of consumers. Internet and m-commerce will remain as infants unless they get it right and we could see the tech bubble look like a mere glitch in comparison to when it all comes tumbling down. I would like to see it come good because there is potential benefit for everyone, not just the criminals and it may lessen the effects of the recession or is that depression....

Will Bill and his buddies step up to the plate or will Web 3.0 kill Bill? 

ID and trust is essential to successfully monetise the internet and Web 3.0 - where is it?