The new digital world

In the past, most people used the web to find information from static websites (Web 1.0). Creating web pages and other digital content was a specialist activity. Faster connections and user-friendly interfaces have changed this. Web 2.0 means more people are making content as well as consuming it – contributing to blogs, using online collaboration tools like wikis to create new ways of working, sharing experiences on social networking sites, or providing direct feedback as customers to improve product design and services.

This explosion of user-generated content is one part of the magic of the new digital world. The other part is the power of lots of people. The greater the number of people using the web,  the greater the number of possible connections and feedback loops, leading to an exponential increase in the cross-fertilisation of ideas and innovation. In developed countries, access to the web is becoming ubiquitous: always on, always on the move, from anywhere, all the time. This speeds up business processes and adds both opportunities and challenges to our daily lives.

The next iteration of the digital world will be even more transformative. In the future, an interactive web will link not just computers, but other critical infrastructure such as buildings, transport systems and the energy grid. This ‘internet of things’ will allow us to transform the ways we use resources, travel, communicate with each other, learn and earn a living.

Connecting New Zealanders to each other and the world, and making new and emerging digital technologies available to New Zealanders, is critical to our ability to succeed in this transformative future.