Web In the Fast Lane
The future of web design is about moving beyond designing for one
device. Is it all about mobile? No. But mobile is incredibly important.
Users are accessing the web from mobile smartphones, tablets, their
laptops and desktop computers. The web is not a fixed width and a
website needs to respond and adapt to these different platforms in a
fluid and effective way. The Web is our only true, universal platform,
and its future is in the hands of our world’s designers. They are the
humans who will be shaping and crafting and tinkering and toying and
pulling and pushing it in an infinite number of directions.
Social media and related apps are definitely going to be at the
forefront of the Web for a long time. But plenty of other technologies
are on the verge of becoming mainstream, either because of more social
acceptance or because of advancements in hardware and applications.
Some companies are already making strides in the micro-payment arena.
Many current systems accumulate a big number of micro-payments before
paying out a single larger payment. But that may change in the future;
you’ll be able to spend micro-payments as soon as you get them, rather
than having to wait for them to add up.
PayPal offers support for micro-payments at very competitive rates per
transaction. Amazon also offers micro-payments through its Flexible
Payments Service (FPS). Dedicated micro-payment systems are also
starting to crop up.
Micro-payments of the future may be closely-related to mobile payment
systems. Payment via cell phone opens up whole new area of economic
opportunity, particularly in areas where cell phones are more prevalent
than computers. Being able to make and receive very small payments, the
equivalent of a dollar or less in many cases, via a mobile device paves
the way for many in developing nations to participate in the Internet
economy in a way that only a few years ago might not have been deemed
possible. |
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