Wired magazine’s September edition trumpets that the “web is dead,” and goes on to explain how the world wide web’s share of overall internet traffic has dropped by about half in the past decade. From its high point in 2000—when it accounted for more than half of all internet traffic—the web has since shrunk to 23% of internet activity.

We point to this for a couple of reasons. First, in the minds of many, it seems, the world wide web = the internet. The two are one and the same. This has never been the case, except in perception: for years, the web has been the poster child for the internet. And even though its share of traffic has decreased, its share of mind hasn’t.

Perhaps knowing this will open eyes to new opportunities.

Topping that list of opportunities (and the truly interesting part of the article’s graphic, if not its content): video. We’re a visual species, and internet video now accounts for more than half of internet traffic, according to the Wired graphic. (Cisco’s VNI forecast puts the current figure for video traffic at 40%.) This also flies in the face of some long-held conventional wisdom that interactivity trumped passivity in online content: we were told for so long that the “web” would kill TV because it promised a new level of active involvement.

Not the case, folks, as the internet now moves more video than anything else—whether that’s through the web itself (via browser or a web-based application), or through native apps (Android, iPhone, download boxes from NetFlix, Vudu and others). More eye-opening data comes from Cisco’s forecasts for 2014:

By 2014, the various forms of video (TV, VoD, Internet Video, and P2P) will exceed 91 percent of global consumer traffic….Global online video will approach 57 percent of consumer Internet traffic (up from 40 percent in 2010).

And while the Wired graphic (and accompanying article) are puzzlingly silent on mobile as a total portion of internet traffic, Cisco’s report also emphasizes the importance of the mobile platform:

Globally, mobile data traffic will double every year through 2014, increasing 39 times between 2009 and 2014.

That’s 3900% increase in four years for mobile traffic. Increasingly, we’ll see people pulling content to themselves via mobile devices, rather than going out and finding that content via the web.

Business Implications:

• If internet video isn’t a major part of your content plan, it should be. Whether you’re biz-to-biz, biz-to-consumer, a wide-ranging consumer product/service company, or a niche-oriented business, video should undoubtedly be one of your core offerings.
• At the very least, your current web site should be optimized for the mobile platform. But now is the time to begin planning content that lives specifically on mobile platforms, pushing data to your customers/fans/clients through specialized apps, widgets, and SMS.