Predictions For 2008

This morning's Online Media Daily had an article by Karlene Lukovitz in which she asked various media pundits to make predictions about next year.

I've selected half a dozen predictions that I found interesting. Here they are:

• Mark Zagorski, chief marketing officer, MediaSpan Group, Inc.
Prediction: A user-generated news portal will launch and become the most highly trafficked news Web site in the world. Google will purchase it and finally do what they said they wanted no part of-- becoming a content producer. But they will do so without hiring a single writer.

• Mitch Lowe, CEO, Jumpstart Automotive Media
Prediction: 2008 will be the year that targeting by audience, rather than context, will become the norm.

• Dana Ghavami, CEO, CheckM8Inc.
Prediction: As 2007 was the year that validated the online medium as a crucial part of the advertising mix, 2008 will be a defining year for how online ad inventory will be brokered. The major media portals and networks will attempt to become clearinghouses of online advertising, while media sellers and buyers will be jiving with marketplace exchanges for direct ad placements. All in all, ad dollars will find the best ways to reach content-specific sites, rather than increased spending in broader strokes.

• Thomas Ordahl and other executives from Group 1066, LLC
Prediction #1: Google stirs up telecom. Google has been rattling its saber about the January spectrum auction, to the tune of at least $4.6 billion. Google's intention to provide open access to the data network could mean a new kind of broadband access that would be significantly cheaper for customers than the telcos' current, closed offerings. Whatever the auction's outcome, Google's participation will shake up what has become a very staid game.

Prediction #2: Open-sourcing will be the strategy of the year on the campaign trail. The 2008 primary season has already seen the emergence of the open-source campaign. The rabid supporters of Ron Paul raised over $4 million in one day, independent of the Congressman's campaign. YouTube and other social networking sites are overflowing with supporter-created content intended to sway opinion.

Prediction #3: "Crowd" will be the word of the year. Businesspeople love buzzwords, and none will be buzzing more than terms paired with "crowd." They'll replace 2007's mashup as the most overused, over-hyped phrases. Get ready for crowdsourcing, crowdstorming, crowdbursting and who knows what else.