Revenues from Web 2.0-related apps and services will hit $18.9 billion in 2014, according to the new report by Juniper Research. Among the apps/services that ride this wave are various presence-enabled communities such as mobile VoIP, (location based) social networking services, user-generated content and mobile dating sites, as well as chat and professional applications.
The research company argues that revenue opportunities exist in the advertising, messaging, premium services and micro billing-enabled virtual economies.
However, the report author Ian Chard says there is fragmentation at all levels. “A confluence of Web 2.0 concepts and end-user behaviour exploiting both the Web and the mobile phone as delivery platforms is driving mobile Web adoption and shaping industry development,” he added.
Carriers on their end could feel threaten with the rise of off-portal applications and over-the-top services – such as mobile IM and VoIP, SMS and social network-based “in-mail.” But that’s something we don’t care about, right?
And as always you can get additional information from Juniper’s website.