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!
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22 Responses
Jim, what do you think about the increase in paid membership websites? Surely this is going to get bigger in 2007 also…
Thanks for this guidance, Jim.
Quick Question: What do you think of the new video distribution system Joel Comm is promoting right now? It’s called Traffic Geyser. I was wondering if you – or anyone you know – has had good results with viral videos to promote info products.
Hi Lisa,
I don’t know the first thing about it… I’ve never seen Joel do a video.
Hi Tim,
I think it’s a trend, however, frankly… most people will burn out on it on both sides because it’s too hard for most people to sustain the content…. but a few will survive.
Jim
Jim,
Thanks for the predictions. You have had a great crystal ball over the years..
I do remember that 3yrs ago you Were Already talking about Video online.
I expect that we will be seeing a lot of “Johnny and Jane come lately” selling various web video solutions in 2007.
I think that a particular type of web video- web infomercials will be a big source of positioning and differentiation for many small business and IM professionals in 2007.
All the best to you. Take Care.
Michelle
Hi Lisa,
Actually if you do a search for “Joel Comm” on http://www.video.google.com you will see that Joel has quite a number of videos on google right now.
I’m on Joe’s list too- Traffic Geyser is the solution that he is using to produce and distribute his videos. I don’t think that TG has launched as yet, Joel was a beta tester.
Best.
Michelle
Michelle,
Great info — thanks — I’ll check it out 
Jim
Jim,
Thanks again for another excellent article.
You never cease to amaze me with your ability to remain
on the cusp of what’s happening online today.
I’m especially impressed with the fact that you’ve looked
past the Web 2.0 hype to see that these developments
reach to the core of what we as humans strive for …
… a sense of attachment and community and a place
to interact with other like-minded people.
Kudos and many props to you.
In fact, I’ll even give you a Dap for that.
No, not your ordinary urban culture-type recognition,
but it’s something else all together.
It’s a service called Dapper.
Quoted from their site, “Dapper is a service that allows
you to extract and use information from any website on
the Internet. For those familiar with web services, you can
think of Dapper as an API maker. For the rest of you,
Dapper allows you to build web applications and mashups
using data from any website without any programming.”
Given the topic of this article, I thought I’d take it upon
myself to share this resource with you and your readers,
especially given the time of year.
Enjoy and “Happy Thanksgiving”
Jason Dolman
Jason,
Wow… that sounds pretty cool.. .I’m going to check that out asap
Thanks for sharing
Jim
I a call I did recently with Jack Humphrey, we talked about widgets – in particular about their application on social networking sites and how a smart marketer could do well providing fun or functional (or both) widgets to MySpace (et al) users.
Video will, of course, continue to prosper, particurally as so many digital cameras and even cell phones can now film short movies.
And I believe we’ll see a significant increase in marketing to/with cell phone technology.
(Not sure if my last comment went through so I’m “resending it”)
Hi Jim,
Really enjoy your articles and blog (especially the videos).
Your name was mentioned a few times on stage (All good things) at the last World Internet Summit I went to in Las Vegas Nevada in September of this year. It made me even prouder to be one of your customers (Turn Words Into Traffic – which, by the way, I’m using to promote my first ever product.)
I also enjoyed the interview with yourself and Mark Widawer (whom I also got a chance to speak with and get 15 minutes of coaching from – great guy)
Just one question: By “widgets” do you mean the same thing as RSS feeds. I know that my MAC (I have both mac and windows computers) has widgets. Is this the same thing?
Thanks again Jim.
Happy U.S. Thanksgiving (we did ours Oct. 9th in Canada)
Hey, just a note, if anyone is interested, here in the South Central part of Canada it will be -21 C (-6F). Brrrrr……….. All the more reason to build an online business just to stay inside!
William Sinclair
Hi Jim,
Love the predictions. Wondered what your thoughts are on the current state of IM to IM.
My belief is it has hit the final stage of any business cycle where the market place is fed up with the hype and no longer believe the claims being made.
I know a lot of recent launches that were supposed to be sell-outs bombed. And a number of big names held an emergency meeting a few days ago to try and figure out what to do.
I made a comment to this effect on Warrior Forum the other day only to have it deleted. (I didn’t name any names either) Oh well, the thought pollice in action I presume.
I live in Canberra William. We just had the coldest day for over 100 years for November… then 4 days later the hottest. Hey Jim, want to start making weather predictions?
Peter
Hi Jim,
!!Happy Thanks Giving!!
I love reading your articles they’re always interesting and informative.
Your predictions seem to be bang on, as I see the same thing being
echoed across the net from others.
Regarding Peter Frank’s question, I would also be intrested in your thoughts on the current state of IM to IM.
I just finished reading a report by another very well known marketer Mike Filsame ‘The Death Of Internet Marketing’. It absolutely agrees with Peter’s statement, and makes some very eye opening points about the state of IM to IM. Have you read it?… Whats your take on it?
Regards,
Wayne Evans
Hi All,
Stay tuned… I’m going to discuss all of this shortly… as you can imagine, I definitely have some opinions
Jim
Sheesh Jim
Getting out early on the predictions!! :-0
I could not agree more – Web 2.0 will have a huge impact on marketing next year.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Ed Dale
I am using Video and TrafficGeyser to promote my stuff… Video marketing is in its infancy today but in the next two years I expect it to be significant.
I do network marketing and while producing ones own videos isn’t hard or particularly time-consuming… its probably not viewed as a “duplicable” marketing method. All I can say is that early adopters will likely prosper more than latecomers….
Jim-
Great article!
After the end of the first quarter of 2007, your predictions are really coming true. As of today, I’ve received over 60% of my web traffic from social networks and video.
What’s great about these traffic sources is many people don’t know how to take advantage of them. Like article marketing a few years ago, all you need to do is create ANY content and you can still pull in lots of target traffic.
Just like Loren’s post above, I use Traffic Geyser with incredible results. I also see Video becoming an INCREDIBLE source of traffic in the years to come.
For those interested in predictions: You may be interested to know about http://www.kahst.com – it’s an online prediction contest (aka: kahst).
People can play these kahsts and see how they rank against others. Also, anyone can setup a kahst – you may wish to set up other kahsts on issues and events that matter to you.
Fun article! I like the forecast format. I’m looking forward to see what kind of “Mash-Ups” will be around to assist the Internet marketer.
Well, you were right Jim video marketing was huge in 2007 With the growth of Web 2.0 and people seeking to do business with real people video is in a unique position in the marketplace and it’s here to stay. Great blog, I really respect your work.
Hi,
I must say that you’re 100% correct, like your post, please keep up the great work.
Thanks
Hi Jim,
I enjoy reading your forward looking predictions. I especially liked how one year you came out with a “State of the Internet” address type report. This was a neat article, I do wish you would have made a few more predictions!
They’re neat to read.
Larry