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Internet analyst Mary Meeker from Morgan Stanley presented a report on Internet trends at Events@Google yesterday. Echoing those trends identified in her 2009 presentation , the report focuses on the rapid and continued growth of the mobile internet and social networking. Claiming that the world has entered the fifth major technology cycle, Meeker predicts that this cycle will be marked by the adoption of mobile Internet technologies, as the trends of "3G + Social Networking + Video + VoIP + Impressive Mobile Devices" converge. Meeker predicts the mobile Internet will be bigger than desktop in five years, noting that by comparing iPhone and iPod touch versus AOL and Netscape users, that mobile Internet is ramping up at a rate far faster than desktop did. Furthermore, she argues that 3G coverage has reached a global inflection point, meaning it is available to at least 20% of the world's cellphone users. Sponsor While the trends Meeker identifies in her report will be familiar to ReadWriteWeb readers, it is worth considering how some of what she observes might impact startups, providing opportunities for new business ventures. Mobile E-Commerce : Not only is mobile increasingly the method by which users are accessing the Internet, Meeker contends that mobile will revolutionize e-commerce, forcing both innovations for both online and brick-and-mortar companies. She identifies location-based services, push notifications, transparent pricing, and instant mobile delivery as four potential areas this will occur. Virtual Goods : The success of Tencent, with over $2 billion in sales of virtual goods in China, demonstrates the potential for this area, Meeker argues Applications : Noting the success of both Facebook and Apple in the app market, what Meeker labels as "vibrant developer / application platform ecosystems, " she suggests that companies will continue to leverage social networks for fans and for revenue. Video : Meeker's research points to video as outpacing VoIP and other resources people seek to access with their mobile devices. Look to Japan : Meeker points to the Japanese social networking site Mixi, who has seen its mobile page views increase from 17% of total views three years ago to 72% today. It is clear that social networks and mobile Internet will continue to play a huge role in shaping the future of technology and business development. The full version of Meeker's presentation is available on Scribd, thanks to Mathew Ingram from GigaOm . Don't miss the ReadWriteWeb Mobile Summit on May 7th in Mountain View, California! We're at a key point in the history of mobile computing right now - we hope you'll join us, and a group of the most innovative leaders in the mobile industry, to discuss it. Register now » Discuss

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Mary Meeker's Internet Trends: The Future is Mobile

When we first looked at the conviction of three Google employees by an Italian judge in late February, we agreed with Google's stance that the conviction attacked the very ideals of the Internet as we know it. The comments in reaction to this article were many and varied, often speculating on the reasoning behind the conviciton. Today, a CNet article identifies profit as the judge's reasoning behind the decision. Sponsor As Google stated when the convictions were first handed down, the case was concerned with a video of "students at a school in Turin, Italy [who] filmed and then uploaded a video to Google Video that showed them bullying an autistic schoolmate. The video was totally reprehensible and we took it down within hours of being notified by the Italian police." According to the Associated Press translation of the court document (pdf), the judge said Google's profiting off of the video was the reason behind the conviction. "In simple words, it is not the writing on the wall that constitutes a crime for the owner of the wall, but its commercial exploitation can," wrote Judge Oscar Magi, continuing to say that the Internet was no longer an "unlimited prairie where everything is permitted and nothing can be prohibited". Profit, especially that profit which is made from completely automated advertising systems, seems like an odd reasoning to hold a content provider responsible for the content uploaded by its users. The oft-quoted statistic to keep in mind here is that YouTube has more than 20 hours of video uploaded every minute to the service. Judge Magi, however, argues that "the overwhelming speed of technical progress will allow, sooner or later, ever more stringent controls on uploaded data on the part of Web site managers". Google gave CNET the following statement in response to the news: "We are reading the full 111-page document from the judge. But as we said when the verdict was announced, this conviction attacks the very principles of freedom on which the Internet is built. If these principles are swept aside, then the Web as we know it will cease to exist, and many of the economic, social, political and technological benefits it brings could disappear. These are important points of principle, which is why we and our employees will vigorously appeal this decision." We have to say, we still agree with Google on this one, as far as the spirit of the conviction goes. Holding the content host, YouTube in this case, liable for the content of its users attacks the very foundation of the Web. If, as some claim, Google knowingly allowed the content to stay on the site, then its a different story. But if the company immediately responded to official requests to remove the video, it should not be held responsible for its users' content. Discuss

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Italian Judge Says "Profit" Behind Google Convictions

Google today launched a video creation tool called Search Stories . It's a very lightweight little Flash tool to put together a little YouTube video of a number of search queries set to music. It's mildly amusing but not really useful. If you've seen LMGTFY (You haven't? Well, LMGTFY ) this is just like it, but with less snark and more apparent effort to engage users. I'm trying to have a sense of humor about it, but it's hard. See my handy-work below. On the spectrum of sophistication among read/write publishing innovations, this one will help define the spread. Sponsor Google's explanatory video below. Note that you can't really make anything like this using the tool. It's a cute video, though. Discuss

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Google Releases Goofy Video Creation Tool

Adobe will soon introduce its Creative Suite 5 to the public. A tool in the new suite will allow for easy import of Flash animations into HTML5 Canvas code. Once IE9 launches, all major browsers will support Canvas. At that point, any Flash creation can be viewable by just about anyone without downloading the Flash plugin. It also means, clearly, that devices that cannot accept the plugin can nonetheless run the animations built on it. Those who are excited about this probably think of Flash is a space hog. As ReadWriteWeb has discovered, it sometimes is, though not always. Sponsor One of the points of interest regarding this development is the fact that Apple products block flash from "access to the required APIs." HTML5 may prove a way around for Flash users and the users of Apple devices, like the iPhone and iPad who wish to use the content. On the video below, "Adobe Flash Platform Evangelist" Michael Chaize compares performance of Flash 10.1 and HTML5 on mobile devices. Comparison of performance of Flash Player 10.1 and HTML 5 on Mobile Devices from michael chaize on Vimeo . Discuss

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Flash Now Importable to HTML5 Canvas

One of my favorite blogs to peruse now and then for amazing advice on web design is Webdesigner Depot which produces excellent in depth guides for various design related issues. Monday they produced an excellent in depth post that provides a step-by-step breakdown of best practices for creating a screen-cast for a Web page , a feature many startups like to include on their homepage to familiarize new visitors with their product. Sponsor This article focuses on the creation of live screen capture videos of someone demoing the website, but I think a lot of this same methodology can go into creating any sort of introductory video a company uses to explain their site. The first step, as with any project, is to plan, and the first questions you need to ask yourself before you even start to storyboard include "What do we want to accomplish with this video?" and "How detailed do we want to get?" Once you figure out the content, length, tone, and medium of your video, then move on to storyboarding. Storyboarding is an important step in creative processes such as these because it is much easier to visualize the end product before putting any real technical effort in. Filmmakers don't just storyboard as a way to outline their plot, they use it to do early edits to the film before wasting any time shooting stuff that will never make it past the cutting room. By getting a storyboard of your production down, you may realize it's too long, too boring or not informative enough; you can determine these flaws by showing the storyboard to anyone unfamiliar with your product and then use their feedback to make alterations. "The more detail in your storyboards, the easier the editing stage will be," writes Stu Green, author of the post on Webdesigner Depot. "Your storyboard will help you stay organized throughout the whole process, and if you ever get lost while producing the video, the storyboard will get you back on track." If you plan on doing a straight screen-capture demo, don't just wing it; make sure you script out what you're going to say as you demo the site. Additionally, spend a few extra bucks on a nice microphone to record your voice - quality audio goes a long way in video production. Of course there are options that don't include a voice-over, but as Green points out, having one provides that human aspect to your video that will better connect with viewers. Green provides a healthy list of options for software to record you screen-capture videos with, including Screenium , Jing , CamStudio , iShowU and Captivate . One nice option that I find is overlooked these days is the screen capture abilities included with the standard version of Quicktime on Mac OS X Snow Leopard. For a low budget product, Quicktime can get the job done, but if you wan't something a little more pro looking, one of the aforementioned applications will help also. As the article continues, Green goes over techniques and methods for creating an interesting and captivating video, including things like pacing, editing techniques, and how to promote the video on the website. But if you'd rather not go through all this trouble on your own, there are a number of production houses that specialize in these types of videos. One I always come back to when talking about these types of videos with friends is Common Craft , which you may know for their "In Plain English" series of videos. While they make videos to explain complex ideas "in plain English," the artists at Common Craft also will create custom videos for companies. A visit to the homepage of Dropbox displays a video explainer of the product created by Common Craft in their easy-to-grasp paper cut-out stop-motion style. Other clients of theirs include Google, Microsoft, LinkedIn, Meetup and Intel. Another production studio that makes similar videos is Epipheo Studios , which I learned about through watching a video explaining how Yelp's review filter works. Epipheo is also responsible for some of the Google Chrome OS and Google Wave videos you've seen, as well as videos for doubleTwist, and Zoho to name a few. Videos such as these can go a long way in helping to rope in new visitors to your site. These can also be useful for an early stage company looking for a quick and unique way to explain their concept to potential investors, though I sometimes think it is better to be able to explain things through words as well. That being said, don't rely too heavily on these videos as pitch material, but rather as a link you can forward to hopefully garner interest in your idea. Be sure to check out the full Webdesigner Depot article by Stu Green , as it is brimming with useful information regarding screen-cast production. Discuss

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How to Create a Killer Explainer Video for Your Startup