Online Predictions For 2007 – by Jim Edwards

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Online Predictions For 2007

      – by Jim Edwards

© Jim Edwards – All Rights reserved
    http://www.thenetreporter.com
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Around this time of year I always like to make a few
predictions about what the upcoming year holds in store for
those of us who use the Internet with any regularity.

By the way, I'd like to point out that I was screaming from
the rooftops about online video 3 years ago and look where
we are now!

So, let's peer into my crystal ball, delve into the future,
and take heed of the following signs of things to come.

* Isolation and Info-Overload *
Anyone who does business online, either full or part time,
knows the avalanche of information has not abated.

If anything, the "info-overload" syndrome worsened in 2006
as we were pelted with new offers, new opportunities, and
new things to do online.

Though this trend will only increase in 2007, all is not
lost.

Because of these feelings of isolation and overload, new
opportunities will arise to lessen, eliminate and, in some
cases, even fix these problems.

These solutions will manifest themselves in many ways
online.

* "Mash-Ups" and "Widgets" Will Rule *
"Mash-Ups" are sites that combine data from multiple sites
or databases to give the user the benefit of a unique
perspective not available on any one individual site.

For example, Maps.Google.com not only enables you to plot
destinations, but find specific locations, stores and points
of interest.

Search "hardware store Williamsburg VA" and Google returns a
list of local hardware stores and plots them for you on the
map.

"Widgets" take an opposite approach.

Widgets are small software applications that use only a part
of the massive amounts of data available from a specific
site or sites.

An example is the little weather widgets available from many
TV stations or even Weather.com that keep you updated.

Instead of logging on to a website to wade through all the
ads and extraneous information you don't want, a widget
automatically delivers exactly what you need.

Both mash-ups and widgets save incredible amounts of time
and help to greatly reduce info-overload.

* Social Networking Sites *
Feelings of isolation create the need for social networking
sites.

Don't believe me?

Look at the explosive growth of MySpace.com, eHarmony.com,
Match.com and other sites where people go to meet, greet,
and get a sense of community and belonging.

As the software and server power to create these sites gets
cheaper and more powerful, expect to see social networking
sites with very specialized "niche" audiences to appear and
thrive.

* Video, Video, Video *
It's hot right now and will only get hotter in 2007.

With Google forking out over a billion dollars for
YouTube.com, the video train has left the station.

However, one trend to watch for is anything that will bridge
the gap between online video and people's TV sets.

Despite the popularity of online video, people still enjoy
sitting in the Lazy-Boy with a cold one flipping channels.

I predict TiVo will come out of the gate with an easy way
for online video content providers to broadcast to a more
traditional audience.

They operate the equipment, have the audience, and it just
makes sense that TiVo will take the distribution of online
videos to the next level.

—-

Jim Edwards is a syndicated newspaper columnist and the co-
author of an amazing new ebook that will teach you how to
work less, get paid more… and have tons more fun!

"The Lazy Man's Guide to Online Business"

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