Check out this TiltBrush video from Google:

Yet another exciting 3D product! Tilt Brush by Google this time. Wow, what a great looking experience. I'm feeling very confident with every month that passes now that 3D is the new paradigm for the Web.

Developers: Start picking up some Three.js, A-Frame, or other Web GL experience.

Designers: What is a simple, friction-less UI/experience for people using a VR/AR (Augmented Reality) device?

Marketers: This is a niche market, but it's growing. Everyone with a cell phone and high-speed internet will have access. And they have money to spend!

All: How are we going to make memorable and meaningful experiences for people using VR/AR? We will really need to stretch beyond the current Responsive/Mobile-first state-of-mind and embrace the Z-axis. Web sites will no longer be a flat, 2 dimensional experience. No amount of drop-shadow and opacity will suffice when it comes to visiting a site with a helmet or pair of glasses on your head.

These days are feeling like the early days of Macromedia Flash. Where boring, content-heavy, web sites are transformed into an interactive experience (for better or for worse). You'll soon start to see web sites shared around on social media that require a VR device to properly experience. Some will go viral. Most will be okay.

Going a step-beyond

There is a chance that eventually the full-web will be navigable through a new web browser that flies you around from amazon.com to facebook.com through a consistent, non-linear experience. Your Chrome toolbar will be replaced with something akin to a spaceship console (because, let's be honest, it will be designed and made by geeks).

Strap on your helmet (or future VR glasses) and you're inside your customized world. Voice-command your VR Jarvis to visit the planet of Amazon.com where products are now fully modeled and rendered in 3D. You'll be able to move it around in free-space, take it for a virtual-test spin, send it to a friend to try out or have them shop with you in a completely virtual environment. You'll want to look good while you are zipping around on the virtual web, so you'll need to shop for virtual garments for your virtual avatar. That's right, people will spend money on items that only exist online! They've been doing it for years now. Micro-transactions are expected now.

Perhaps you'll start making your own custom 3D objects like clothing, furniture, or vehicles that traverse the world wide web. A whole new market awaits there.

Conclusion

I'm an eternal pessimist. I've seen a lot of developments for 3D, and most of it looks promising but is currently cumbersome and hideous. The most promising thing is that there are a lot of big players in this new paradigm: Microsoft, Google, Facebook, Mozilla, and HTC are the ones I can think of off the top-of-my-head. Lots of money is being spent. It's constantly in tech news. It's mewling and icky from the womb, but it's going to evolve quickly.

Now hold your phone up with fresh eyes and embrace the Z!

UPDATE:

More proof that VR is the next paradigm: