Those of us who webcasted before it was called podcasting, who kept online journals before it was called blogging, who designed websites with HTML and PERL not Dreamweaver, WordPress or a choice of templates; know just how much the internet has been transformed over the past 10 to 15 years.
Mind you, not that all of the changes have been bad. The browsers are a lot more stable, and more universally code-compatible. PC and server processing speed and bandwidth have increased almost exponentially. And the volume of content and methods of retrieval and viewing is really incredible.
But apart from those advances in technology that one would expect; the World Wide Web has gotten much worse. The scammers, get-rich-quickers and even legitimate advertisers have commercialized everything from email to ebay and home pages. The voyeurs and exhibitionists have warped information and entertainment to trash. Social networking has become such an obsession, that even though the number of people online is constantly growing, the average number of page views per (regular) website has decreased. Search engine ranks can be bought, not earned. Identity thieves and cookie monsters abound. And all of the major websites are starting to all look the same.
In short, the internet is becoming a homogenized haven for mediocrity. And while there are highly creative websites and extremely talented "webmasters" still out there, the vast majority of content is schlock.
For businesses this is proving to be quite a challenge. First, it's nearly impossible to find a web designer that doesn't use templates -- that make every website look like every other website. Second, it's becoming harder and harder to communicate intelligently to an audience that doesn't seem to "get it." Third, with the gaming, video sites and twitters getting all the eye-balls, it's difficult to maintain high monthly visitor stats without compromising on content and an acceptable level of standards. Fourth, even if you can avoid all of the aforementioned problems, in a dumbed-down society, a large block of consumers just don't seem to care about anything, except things that keep them diverted from reality.
So, what to do? Where's this crazy train going? Well, let me put this way: you can't get off, it's not going to stop; so, whatever the prevailing trend is, avoid it. Future success will be found by those that think outside the box. And remember, since you can't please all of the people all of the time, why try. Think niche marketing, and good luck!