Photo credit: King Cloud by akakumo . The following is my column in next week's AdAge... One of the biggest trends shaping technology today is called " cloud computing ." Consumers and business are moving more of their data off their computers and into rich Internet applications that are available everywhere - e.g. "the cloud." You can experience this for yourself on sites like Yahoo Mail , Google Docs , Salesforce.com and Mint.com . While geeks have been gushing over web-based software for years now, the average consumer has been slower in adopting them. That said, given the already huge popularity of webmail services, it's only a matter of time before they do for more complex tasks. Here are three things for marketers to watch... LESS IS MORE: How much did you spend on your last computer? If you're like most you probably plunked down anywhere from $1,000 to $2,000. However, your next computer could be a sub-$500 netbook. Netbooks are light, low-powered, cheap laptops with small screens. They rely on the Internet for most tasks and are growing in popularity. According to Google Trends , netbook searches are up 4x this year and IDC sees sales topping nine million in 2012 . As netbooks rise, thin will be in. Since these computers are underpowered by design, consumers who use these devices will eschew complicated, 3D or processor-intense experiences in favor of interfaces that are easy and formatted for a 10" screen. WEB APP ADS: M ...
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Photo credit: King Cloud by akakumo . The following is my column in next week's AdAge... One of the biggest trends shaping technology today is called " cloud computing ." Consumers and business are moving more of their data off their computers and into rich Internet applications that are available everywhere - e.g. "the cloud." You can experience this for yourself on sites like Yahoo Mail , Google Docs , Salesforce.com and Mint.com . While geeks have been gushing over web-based software for years now, the average consumer has been slower in adopting them. That said, given the already huge popularity of webmail services, it's only a matter of time before they do for more complex tasks. Here are three things for marketers to watch... LESS IS MORE: How much did you spend on your last computer? If you're like most you probably plunked down anywhere from $1,000 to $2,000. However, your next computer could be a sub-$500 netbook. Netbooks are light, low-powered, cheap laptops with small screens. They rely on the Internet for most tasks and are growing in popularity. According to Google Trends , netbook searches are up 4x this year and IDC sees sales topping nine million in 2012 . As netbooks rise, thin will be in. Since these computers are underpowered by design, consumers who use these devices will eschew complicated, 3D or processor-intense experiences in favor of interfaces that are easy and formatted for a 10" screen. WEB APP ADS: M ...