The internet is so ubiquitous in our everyday lives that we rarely even stop to think about it – at least until the second the Wi-Fi signal dies, that is! And we’ve gotten so used to the fast pace of innovation and plethora of new services springing up each week that it’s easy to forget some of the services we use every day simply didn’t exist until a few years ago.

More and more companies are taking advantage of the web to provide their services to a global audience, rather than just the customers who walk through the door. Let’s take a look at some of the biggest innovations, as well as a few industries that are ripe to take the plunge online!

Socializing and dating:

Perhaps not surprisingly, online dating was one of the first services to go ‘mainstream’ on the web. In fact, one of the biggest advantages of a more connected world was that people who would ordinarily never have chance to meet otherwise could find people with similar interests. And although apps and smartphones have taken over the game with younger users, online dating isn’t going anywhere soon.

 

The end of TV as we know it:

Both Millennials and Gen X prefer to get their TV fix on streaming services like Netflix, rather than through traditional TV and cable services. This has been a major disruptor for both traditional TV service providers and the advertisers who used to rely on the medium.

 

Shopping:

While in-store retail still dwarfs the online market in yearly sales, that’s been slowly but steadily changing. While it was relatively rare for traditional brick and mortar chains to provide an online purchasing and delivery service just a few years ago, now it’s pretty standard. And even when consumers opt to make a final purchase in-store, you can be pretty certain they’ve compared prices and products online before they make their decision.

And if a ‘good’ can be converted into an electronic medium, think DVDs and music, buying event tickets or even playing the US Powerball, you can rest assured there’s now an electronic alternative that can be purchased from the comfort of your home.

 

Travel bookings and accommodation:

Remember walk-in travel agents? Gen X doesn’t! Brochures and friendly travel agents might provide a more tactile experience, but the opportunity to read reviews from previous guests, watch Instagram videos from people actually visiting and compare similarly priced destinations in a completely different part of the world has turned out to hold greater appeal for younger travelers.

 

The Gig Economy:

One of the most exciting, and yet perhaps the least developed opportunities that the web provides has been the chance for people to work from home. You would think that with highways and public transport getting more crammed year on year that companies would see the benefit of letting their non-client-facing staff work from home, and yet this is one tradition businesses are finding it hard to let go of.

What they are starting to embrace, however, is the option to hire freelancers and outsourced workers for functions that aren’t central to their business or don’t warrant the hiring of a whole new staff member. People who want to work from home as content creators, graphic designers, musicians or website designers can put their services out there, and give companies the option to hire them on a per-project basis.

This has also given people wanting to start their own side business a range of affordable professionals to choose from, hiring someone to design their website, someone to edit and create their website content, someone else to do their logo and graphic design etc.

 

Voting:

Voting in elections is another example where tradition has tended to win out, but this isn’t the case everywhere. Australia, Canada, Estonia, Finland, France and Norway have all experimented with the idea, with varying amounts of success. It’s especially useful, of course, for residents who happen to be outside of the country during the voting period. In a world where we’re happy to use the internet to do our banking and use our credit cards, it seems a bit odd that voting in elections is still so far behind. As more countries adopt smart ID technology however, that might be set to change in years to come.

 

An entertaining ride:

We’ve seen big disruptors like Airbnb and Uber transform the way we use the Internet of Things, and blockchain technologies like Bitcoin that could change the way we think about money forever. While it’s always hard to predict what’s coming next, one thing’s for sure – it’s not going to be a dull ride!