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Web 2.0 Predictions for 2008

Dion Hinchcliffe has blogged his Web 2.0 Predictions for 2008. They’re really interesting and worth reading the whole post. Here’s the short list (Read the rest here):
“1. Open APIs finally go beyond free as successful business models emerge.
2. Rich Internet Application (RIA) platforms such as Adobe AIR and Microsoft’s Silverlight get major traction as the development of non-trivial Web applications in Ajax remains difficult and time-consuming.
3. Google’s product strategy begins to coalesce into a mostly coherent picture, though a few big pieces won’t fit into the puzzle.
4. The Web 2.0 industry consolidates as it begins to mature.
5. End-user mashups will be a reality but adoption will be slow for most of the year as users take time coming to grips with the possibilities and mindset.
6. The Web widget format wars will ensue as Google Gadgets/OpenSocial takes on just about everyone else. No one will win yet.
7. Page view “inventories” for online advertising continue to fall short of demand, even if an economic downturn takes place.
8. Web-based Software as a service (SaaS), aka Office 2.0, continues to encounter serious challenges but grows at a record pace anyway. Despite this, positive aspects of SaaS will continue to prevail and 2008 is looking to be the biggest SaaS year yet.
9. A wave of new killer mobile Web applications (and their startups) appear, spurred by the iPhone Software Development Kit (SDK) and ever more untethered workers.
10. The first Android-powered phones will fail to impress and a decent, though not spectacular, iPhone upgrade keeps Apple ahead of the industry.
11. Social media begins to grow up, leading to the first significant onset of Web 2.0 versions of talent agents, production companies, and other supply/demand enablers.
12. Leading social networking sites MySpace and Facebook continue to maintain their traffic but struggle to ignite significant revenue growth.
13. The Web moves into the living room as sites like Hulu and others make it practical and rewarding to participate on the Web using a large screen for entertainment.
14. The first generation of pure Web 2.0 auteurs emerge, creating social media and user-centric online experiences that are highly imaginative and popular, but difficult to access for the non-digitally literate.
15. Ownership of data contributed to Web 2.0 sites becomes a growing public relations issue, though the average user won’t care much this year. ”
Can’t say I disagree. Good post.
Stephen

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Posted on: January 4, 2008, 5:06 pm Category: Uncategorized

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