The Splinternet

The standardized Internet is fraying. Long live the Splinternet. Interactive marketers have thrived in the golden age of the Web, where people access Web sites using standard, similarly formatted PCs and browsers. No more. The Internet is splintering across proprietary platforms like the Apple iPhone and Google Android. Connected televisions will have their own interactive formats. Even on PCs, social sites like Facebook shatter the unity of the Web with content behind a password, invisible to search engines. Familiar online marketing tools like links, search engine optimization (SEO), and analytics are different or missing in these new environments. Even so, marketers must follow their customers into these environments. Adjust your planning and measurement approaches and get comfortable with experimentation. The future of the Splinternet is one where vendors like Apple perpetuate proprietary platform creation and marketers rely on a modular approach to create interactive customer experiences.