I'll throw in another vote for video and media. It's really taking off with the growth of high bandwidth networks and increased ease of use (iTunes, Flash video, etc.) It's funny -- I had a conversation with a coworker the other day and she said the exact same thing about MySpace == Geocities. And I just realized this as I was typing this post: While the paradigms shift with each new Big Thing, one feature that's seemed to remain constant over the past 10 years is the level of control over looks and content that belongs in the hands of the users.
I think that (more)interactivity will be where we are going ...applications like google earth etc. And maybe a bit closer to what I think will ultimatly become reality a common use of virtual reality (hotel habo on steroids)
That just goes to show you that the next big thing doesn't have to be new or revolutionary. There's a good chance it can be some concept that's been floating around for years.
This is the main reason I started this thread: I've the feeling that ALL the past Big Things have been just a better (sometimes just more lucky...) implementation of an idea that was "in the air" - and that some smart guy picked up and trasformed in a very succesful business And for this same reason I think we are losing a bit our topic. I think we are focusing on "HOW" the Next Big Think will be delivered (e.g.: we all agree video is going to be part of this Next Big Thing - but video is a *mean*, the real question is "what do you do with videos?!?"), but that's the wrong side of the story - we should concentrate on WHAT we want to deliver, what services we want to offer, what do "people" need today. Anyway, thank you for participating in this topic!