A special report from Spectrum, the journal of IEEE, is well worth a closer look to see where its writers see the Web evolving.
It contains, first and foremost, a series of articles on how the Internet and other technologies have changed how we work and relate to each other. There are a number of articles that compare Google and Facebook in different dimensions: how their data centers differ from ordinary data centers, what it is like to work at their Valley HQ campuses (although Facebook will be moving to a new facility later this year).
I particularly liked one that described what is on the menu at their various cafeterias, which “have better food than most cruise ships.” That’s a complement, by the way, as the main Google campus has more than 18 places to eat and all free of charge, too. Think your company has props because you have free a soda fountain? How about five different brands of yogurt at Facebook?
Forgetting about food for a moment, there is also an excellent article on five technologies that will shape the Web, many of which, like the Internet of Things, that we continue to write about here (and the IEEE article includes a pull quote from our fearless leader, too).
One article on the nature of privacy in today’s social world I found particularly intriguing, with its example of a 20-something medical resident using a series of six different groups to sort her friends, based on what she felt they needed to know about her personal life.
While most of us aren’t willing to take this level of effort, clearly it is an example of what many will have to do in the future. There is also commentary from Robin Dunbar, an anthropology professor at the University of Oxford who first came up with the notion that most of us can’t keep track of more than 150 friends.
