the biological analogy is not really fitting. there is no natural ecosystem that is as concentrated a monoculture as the technology sector. in nature, if your

the biological analogy is not really fitting. there is no natural ecosystem that is as concentrated a monoculture as the technology sector. in nature, if your carefully nurtured monoculture (don't call me Microsoft) failed, your field would normally grow a dozen types of weeds, not another monoculture. the different tech epochs feel more like the passing of the "torch" from one dominant entity to the next rather than any broad based competition for survival of the fittest. this structure has as much to do with the political / regulatory systems of those eras as any intrinsic aspects of digital technology. but on the substance of the future of the "web" (=the future of non-owned computing) its rough outlines are already there and they are beautiful: it will break the confines of the "browser" (the OS becomes the browser), and break the confines of the http protocol. mobile will be just another form factor in "convergent computing", offering another UI into both self-sovereign data spaces and federated interaction platforms mark my words, the era now on its final legs will be remembered with disdain as a stagnant cash-cow period that had no moral scruples and exploited any and all human behavioral failings to turn users into exploitable idiots.