Comments on: 2008 Predictions: History Repeating

By: Geoff Sowrey

Geoff Sowrey — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 21:56:08 +0000

Ha! Well, looks like my hope about cheaper wireless data in Canada has come true! Thank you, Telus!

By: Geoff Sowrey

Geoff Sowrey — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 16:42:55 +0000

Jon, I’d love to see more micro-predictions, but that’s the really hard one. Macro is easier because — as you put it — change takes time, and macro trends are easier to guess at. Micro movements are a pain — how can you guess where the market will go for one little thing?

OpenSocial, as I’ve mentioned before, strikes me as a nice try, but unless someone manages to “killer app” it, chances are it’ll go the way of Google Base or Google Answers. I’d kill to see QCodes become more widespread, but unless more than just Sprint picks it up (e.g. all the major carriers in North America, not just the US), it’ll remain little more than a curiousity. Again — macro trending is really needed for something like this to be successful.

betaBonnie, I think this is already being done. Artistic achievement in digital advertising has been improving for many years, and the technology has gotten to the point where it can be often achieved. There are still some drawbacks (usually in the “unseen” things, like search engine optimisation), but there are ways of getting around it.

By: betaBonnie

betaBonnie — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 15:58:39 +0000

Hopefully, the artistic and design side of the web will become more prominent. The web as an art form is just beginning to take shape. That is, using the web in ways that cannot be be used otherwise, i.e., brochures, TV, phone. Check out this website (which I have absolutely no affiliation with). Hopefully, more sites of this variety will be created in 2008.

www dot claracollins dot com

Happy new year,

bb.

By: jon burg

jon burg — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 12:21:27 +0000

I’m in agreement. Things rarely change overnight, and this year will continue to see incremental change (for more, see my post here:http://jburg.typepad.com/future/2007/12/innovation-in-a.html)

That being said, it would be really cool to see some predictions around micro trends rather than macro, as this is where the real change will happen (other than changes in mass perception of technology). Where will OpenSocial go? When will QR Codes/SemiCodes finally hit it big (Sprint just launched this capability)? How will advertising adjust to a disconnected portable media device (as more and more media is consumed on a stand-alone disconnected platform, where’s the ad opportunity)?

I’m in agreement, things will continue to gradually change, but I for one, would love to hear your thoughts or predictions on a more micro-trending basis.

Additionally, as I hinted above, I believe that this will be the year that (a) anyone who wasn’t reading about technology will begin to KNOW more about technology and (b) in the second half of this year, mainstream media will realize that they are over-hyping consumer technology and realism/skepticism will set it. They’ve done it with virtually every platform, over hyped the hell out of it and then a couple months later brought in the skeptics to rip the hell out of the hype, this is the year that the mainstream will get more tech savvy. And the implications will be enormous.

Hoping to post about some of this later this week, keep an eye out for it!

-Jon