The title of this post is a bit of a misnomer; the core of what lead me to this two part post is that the internet WILL get better.  What I mean by a better internet is one that appears smaller because it is tailored to you.  In the first post I will cover what I think the components of a better internet are and why they are necessary.  Once I arrived at the conclusion that the internet will get better, the next question was, “how will it get there? “ The discussion of the two leading camps for making the internet better math and cliques (Google or Facebook) will be discussed in the second post.

So what is a better, “more individualized internet?”  Essentially, this is an internet that “knows” you.  What do I mean by an internet that knows you?  Let me pose a couple examples:

• The responses in your Google search will be based on you.  When I search “shirts” I’ll see shirts I like, when you do it you’ll see ones you like.  When I search “blackberry” I’ll see phones.  When my grandmother searches “blackberry” she’ll see berries.
• The products that show up in your recommendations on Amazon will be your shopping list, without you entering anything.
• Facebook will not only predict who you might know, but who you ought to.
• Your Google News page will have all the stories you care about, and none of the ones you don’t.

This is not only preferable to the current internet, it will become necessary.  More and more content producers exist.  More and more companies are vying for your attention on the web.   More and more information and misinformation exists on the internet.  It’s no longer about whether or not you can buy a TV or research TVs or check the TV schedule or find streaming TV on the internet, it’s about what the best site to do each of those things is and THAT depends on you.  When we reach the point that there are 100 sites to do each of those things, then Google will have to know more than which site is best, it will have to know which site is best for YOU.

How will it figure that out, you’ll have to wait for Monday to read the facebook method vs. the Google method.  You can postulate in the comments if you like though.