Three buyers get a better deal than two and four get a better price than three. Consumers also will see more interactivity, said Sarah Golden, CEO of Advanced Internet Marketing Inc. of Norfolk. The spread of high-speed DSL and digital cable connections to the Internet will foster use of more video and sound on the Net. As the Net works to keep up with human attention spans that continue to decline, online companies will find it harder to be found on the Web, she added. Differentiation will be vital, but not easy.
Taxation also looms as a Net-stopper.
Parker added that more censorship is in store in the future as the United States moves toward stricter Net policies established in other countries. Other potential pitfalls include more anonymous surfing, where users go online without any identities and can be identified only through extensive research.