Quick chat: Martha Lane Fox

Founder of Lastminute.com and Britain’s first Digital Champion, Martha Lane Fox talks to Daniel Bennett about the future of the internet

As smartphones become ubiquitous, the way we use the net is changing. What major shifts do you see in the immediate future?

I think location-based services, which use your phone’s GPS, are just starting to pick up. I really like the idea that you turn up somewhere and get special offers for restaurants in that area, for example. You’ll be really pinpointed and targeted, not just with marketing messages, but with combinations of information too. I think that will be one of the big trends in the coming years.

Also, I think we haven’t even begun to see the powers of social networking in its broadest sense. I don’t just mean static sites like Facebook and Twitter, but the power of communities to come together online. I think that our ability to find like-minded people and create new businesses by being able to connect online is only just beginning to be tapped into.

How important is it that everyone in the UK is able to access the internet?

Massively. Our Race Online 2012 group has seen people tackle drug addiction and homelessness, all because they engaged through the world again via the net. I really do think it can help ease serious social disadvantages. Clearly it can’t solve all problems, but I believe it can help ease people’s most difficult and tricky issues. Independent research looking at social exclusion has found the net can have an extraordinary effect on people that felt vulnerable or isolated because of their problems – perhaps before they thought that there was no-one they could engage with. But being online with the communities that exist there has totally transformed that.

How do you get people in deprived living situations excited by the internet?

With the same things that get everyone excited: the ability to communicate immediately, to have your shopping delivered, to see photos of your friends and family when you’re miles away and to search for information. If you’re a parent, you can find the best schools and if you’re a patient, you can look for hospitals. There are people who really adore gardening and all of a sudden they can see every single flower on the planet. I’ve learnt that everybody has that one thing that gets them excited. You have to find that point of interest in others.

What websites are you enjoying at the moment?

I’m always flipping between sites. Part of my life is trying to discover new things online and look at different models. One I’m looking at a lot now is Zopa (uk.zopa.com). It’s a micro money-lending site where people can lend money to each other via the net. They base their decision on previous ratings of each individual. It’s the whole social-networking commerce approach again.

With your experience of creating Lastminute.com, what would you say to anyone thinking of launching their own web company?

First, really think carefully about whether you as an individual or you within a team are better equipped to start a company. I’ve always worked in partnerships and, personally, I think if you get it right, it can make things a whole lot better. Second, test as much as possible before you spend too much money. It’s possible to do a lot on the web at a very low cost. Get something up and out there, and just see whether your idea has any legs.

Many people might aspire to have the kind of success you’ve enjoyed, but who are your heroes?

I have hundreds. They’re everywhere, in literature, history, all over the place. I’ve just been reading a book about Ada Lovelace. She was one of the first women in technology who helped invent an entire industry.

I think my heroes also tend to be closer to home. Some of my friends have done extraordinary things. I have a dear friend who works for a charity called Just For Kids Law that helps children in serious trouble. She’s an extraordinary woman, she’s definitely a heroine.

When you’re not behind a computer, how do you relax?

I love the theatre and try to see as much as I can. I read a lot. I love travelling. Of course, I’ve been very lucky as Lastminute.com has allowed me to travel all over the world.

Any favourite destinations?

I love Japan. I haven’t been to Tokyo in a while, but I want to go back. It’s bonkers and brilliant at the same time.