# Review of Web Mapping: Eras, Trends and Directions
## 4 Trends and Directions in Web Mapping
### Directions in Web Mapping: Data, Users and Functionality
#### 4.2.2 Directions for Web Mapping Users  
With the approaching worldwide saturation of the number of users of the geospatial web, the future is not in an increasing number of users, but in an increasing number of applications being used by these users. More and more applications and apps from a greater diversity of disciplines will consume geospatial information that is integrated within their business and consumer workflows and decision-making processes. The challenge for future developments is to provide information and knowledge in an integrated, contextualized and even automated environment that makes it easy and transparent to consume.  
Thus, what will this integrated and contextualized environment look like? A number of characteristics can help define this environment, namely, authentic, collaborative and personalized. This means users will engage with and be immersed in an environment that they can relate to and that is relevant to their problem or decision-making. They will be able to engage with others and collaborate in joint projects and tasks irrespective of their geographic location. They will have access to the information that is relevant to their queries and tasks at hands.  
To be authentic, the geospatial web environment must engage and immerse users in a realistic 3D and 4D experience involving real world processes, problem solving and decision-making [143]. For example, [PERSON] et al. [144] envision a future Digital Earth to provide users with the world's information, multidimensional in space and time, above, on and below the surface, integrating both physical and virtual spaces, and incorporating more than simply space and spatial relations, but at a higher level, places, culture and identity together with their interrelationships. Digital Earth will be able to engage users with historical perspectives and developments as well as explore models that provide scenarios, explain processes or assist in predicting the future. Users will have greater control over contributing data, interpreting information, building scientific models and shaping policy choices and decisions. [PERSON] et al. [144] also indicate that Digital Earth should be easy to use, fun and interactive, irrespective of the user's skills and level of knowledge.  
The geospatial web will become increasingly collaborative with users being able to work together in both physical and virtual environments. [PERSON] et al. [143] point to a more collaborative and social environment in which users are engaged in shared applications in space and time. The future Digital Earth will likewise be more participative with users being able to interact and share experiences in a realistic digital globe environment [144].  
The geospatial web environment will also become more personalized to users in the future. It is personalized for users both in the sense that users can guide and control what they want to see or know, but also in a transparent way based on appropriately filtered and contextualized information using user profiles and history. Personalization involves knowing both the requirements of users as well as the requirements for applications and tasks they are engaged with. Users with varying backgrounds and skill levels from diverse disciplines and with different perspectives will be able to converse and engage in an integrated, personalized and semantically-rich environment [93].