Lewin Group founder James Lewin’s recent article for IT World, 2006 Will Be a Tipping Point for Online Media, takes a look at the changing world of online media:

For the first ten years of mainstream Internet use, online media has been considered alternative – an alternative to television, radio, print and magazines. Online media had a limited audience, largely a result of bandwidth limitations, but also because web builders were still figuring out how to use Internet multimedia effectively.

10 years on, broadband penetration in the home is pushing 40% in the US, and is much higher in some areas of the world. Just as importantly, many sites are finding ways to use online media effectively. For these reasons and others, it looks like 2006 will be a tipping point for online media.

Web 2.0, the idea that a second-generation Web is developing, has been getting a lot of attention lately. Sites are describing themselves as “Web 2.0″ sites, investors are looking for “Web 2.0″ sites, and it’s becoming a popular tool for framing discussions about the future of the Internet.

It’s also generating its share of controversy, with many thinking that the idea is vaporware or not much more than marketing hype. It’s a flawed term, because many of the ideas that it encapsulates don’t really have anything to do with the Web, but instead relate to other ways of working over the Internet. Also, most of the so-called “2.0″ ideas have been important parts of the Internet since early on.

I’m not convinced yet that Web 2.0 represents much more than a renewed since of optimism in the potential of the Internet. Nevertheless, it’s worth reviewing as a framework for looking at the future of your website or ebusiness, and at the future of the Internet itself.

Offsite Link: Thinking Web 2.0

Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), is one of the hottest technologies affecting businesses today. Unfortunately, it’s also a tech term that tends to make people’s eyes roll back into their heads while they become catatonic.

So, instead of talking about VoIP, this article looks at billion-dollar technology deals, vodka, seedy adult book shops, hot new European cars, illegal MP3s and controversial person-to-person file sharing applications.

If I mention VoIP along the way, don’t worry; I’ll get back to the juicy stuff as quickly as possible.

Offsite Link: VoIP: Hot Internet Technology, or Low-Carb Vodka?