« Letting kids be dangerous | Main | Facebook apps spyware scare »

08/01/2008

Hierarchy of online needs

Hugh Macleod's Twitter pointed me to this post from VortexDNA comparing Maslow's hierarchy of needs with the Internet's evolution.

image

The final, highest stage, actualisation is described as "the Web becomes a frictionless tool". For me, this is the stage we're on the edge of right now, and realising it is tied up in no small part with the mobile web becoming a reality.

When I'm at home and my iPod Touch is cocnnected to my WiFi I feel like I'm getting a glimpse of what that frictionless web will be like. My iPod's always with me and when I think of something I want to know, do or say I connect instantly with the web and find it, do it, set things in motion.

It also makes me think about  about the way that people's expectations and needs of the web evolve over time too. I've come across similar ideas before, and there's a correlation with Ross Mayfield's "powerlaw of partcipation" concept idea about "online tenure" (the longer somone has broadband at home, the more likely they are to use social computing tools).

TrackBack

TrackBack URL for this entry:
https://www.typepad.com/services/trackback/6a00d8341c718953ef00e54fc4d9388833

Listed below are links to weblogs that reference Hierarchy of online needs:

Comments

It's a nice idea visualisation I think it misses or obscures several stages. For example usability and emotional resonance of digital platforms. I'd put those near the bottom, close to (or in) 'connectivity needs'. Unlike your apple kit, precious few digital experiences (espcially websites) deliver these basics to an acceptable standard.

The comments to this entry are closed.