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Re: louisgray.com: 10 Predictions for 2009 In the World of Tech

cheap domain names — Mon, 11 May 2009 19:17:01 -0000

you are so right that companies will be cutting though 2009 and probably though 2010. the economy is
just killing everybody.

Re: louisgray.com: 10 Predictions for 2009 In the World of Tech

Pinny Cohen — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 14:22:28 -0000

10) Microsoft has just a few days ago shown interest in buying Yahoo's search again...

Re: louisgray.com: 10 Predictions for 2009 In the World of Tech

Josh Downes — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 06:24:51 -0000

Great reading thanks. I'm off to Follow u on Twitter :)
I'd just like to respond to the predictions that interest me:

1) The Real-Time Web Will Become Critical for News and Information Discovery
Oh yes :)

2) Businesses Will Be Expected to Be On Social Media If They Have Web Sites
YouTube definitely, and I guess maybe LinkedIn. Not so sure about Facebook/ Twitter/ Friendfeed. I think businesses will be more interested in bringing these sort of services in-house for their own employees.

5) Android Will Have Less than 20% the Sales of iPhone in 2009
An-what? Android has has a bit of a feeble launch despite being hyped up so much. Google might launch its own Android-based device with a setup similar to iPhone with an Android app store etc.

7) FriendFeed and Twitter Will Both Be Independent Through 2009
I think FriendFeed might just wither. Twitter on the other hand may one day be worth more than Facebook. I reckon Microsoft will make a bid for Twitter in the 3rd quarter.

10) eTrade, Digg, StumbleUpon, Skype and Yahoo! Will All Be Sold.
Who would want to buy Digg and StumbleUpon? Something tells me these kind of sites don't really have much of a future.

Re: louisgray.com: 10 Predictions for 2009 In the World of Tech

Guest — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 17:16:33 -0000

Great post, really mind opening!

Re: louisgray.com: 10 Predictions for 2009 In the World of Tech

bob resmerita — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 05:25:23 -0000

there's no way Hotmail/Outlook can reach Gmail... unfortunatelly. and adding GreesMonkey to GMail is just bi-turbo-ing the gmail.

Re: louisgray.com: 10 Predictions for 2009 In the World of Tech

thomaspower — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 04:17:14 -0000

You think Hotmail/Outlook is better than Gmail surely not?

Re: louisgray.com: 10 Predictions for 2009 In the World of Tech

jonathanfleming — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 02:31:28 -0000

Apple is well positioned to keep building steam, I don't see Google surpasing the Iphone nor knocking it off, the Iphone is a far superrior product. Skype is a great service, I don't see it going anywhere, I just don't think Ebay knows how to leverage its true worth. Twitter will grow once it brings more simiple and easier ways for every day folks to get involved.

Re: louisgray.com: 10 Predictions for 2009 In the World of Tech

Chris Charabaruk — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 17:01:47 -0000

I think you're dead on for all, except perhaps the White House website one. I'm not doubting that will happen, I just think it's more likely to be by Chinese or RBN crackers than anyone else.

Re: louisgray.com: 10 Predictions for 2009 In the World of Tech

philipccalvert — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 14:19:52 -0000

Interesting thoughts - thanks.

Expect too to see the continued rise of very targetted - but highly profitable niche social networks - each (ideally) with iPhone and other apps to enable users to stay very close to their market/profession in real time.

Niche will be a good model for income, reducing the need for revenue to be solely advertising based. IFA Life, for example is a great example of a social network for financial planners around the world. Users can network with each other, share best practice, debate industry issues - and get found by consumers looking for professional advice.

Also, during tougher times, planners can use it to find jobs where needed - and providers of services to them can get very much closer and engage in much more meaninglful dialogue than through traditional social networks.

Much fun to be had.

Philip Calvert
Social Media Sales and Marketing Speaker

Re: louisgray.com: 10 Predictions for 2009 In the World of Tech

Andy DeSoto — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 14:13:53 -0000

Great predictions, Louis! Your thought about the White House site is particularly interesting and I think could turn out to be quite accurate. I'm sure that the government will be beefing up physical security for President Obama-- hopefully they'll be sure to do the same online, as well.

Not sure about the real-time Web yet, though, myself-- although I certainly see its value as a novelty (and if even Facebook is offering a real-time view, it's got to be worth considering), I agree that it'll be difficult to make it useable. We'll see.

Major alternative to FeedBurner, eh? Does ReadBurner have anything planned? Don't know why that comes to mind, probably because the names are so familiar!

Re: louisgray.com: 10 Predictions for 2009 In the World of Tech

Scabr — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 13:46:27 -0000

One Fact vs Ten Predictions:fast-growing web crashes the most of predictions. Though Twitter and FriendFeed will rock.:)

Re: louisgray.com: 10 Predictions for 2009 In the World of Tech

thomaspower — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 13:29:31 -0000

Pretty good worth a fiver wager.

Re: louisgray.com: 10 Predictions for 2009 In the World of Tech

Ian Hutchinson — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 10:04:02 -0000

On that last one, it pains to watch Microsoft trying to venture into the Internet market. I think the only decent product they have is their email. Everything else like their search won't be able to keep up with the likes of Google.

But hey, hopefully we'll get a boatload of innovation from the Internet this year. Happy new year everyone!

Re: louisgray.com: 10 Predictions for 2009 In the World of Tech

Albert Willis — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 01:40:31 -0000

I love the iPhone - but Apple can support only so much innovation. How silly would it be for Apple to release 20 different iPhone versions? I don't think they have the ability or the desire to meet the needs all all users. The fact that Android is open means everyone can innovate - some phones will suck, but many others will rock.

This is the same approach that Microsoft uses with Windows Mobile—license the operating system and let the device guys "innovate." It sounds great in theory, but in practice, it doesn't work so well. Because of the hardware differences between devices, it becomes more difficult to deliver a consistent user experience for Google and its developers. If your game needs an accelerometer but brand X Android device doesn't have one, what are you supposed to do?

Apple won't make 20 different versions of any device and certainly not the iPhone. However, they will create 3 or 4 versions that address 80% of the market, which is working really well for them right now.

For the record, I think Android will gain traction at the expense of Windows Mobile more so than Apple, especially as Android matures.

Re: louisgray.com: 10 Predictions for 2009 In the World of Tech

Albert Willis — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 01:09:11 -0000

What will keep Apple in the lead for the foreseeable future are their developer tools and their ability to add new features that get developers excited about the platform. While some are distracted by iFart and its ilk, developers are creating applications that rival anything that exists on desktop operating systems.

The drop from $599 for an 8 GB iPhone in June 2007 to $199 8 GB 3G iPhone today (and even $99 refurbished 3Gs being sold by AT&T) should show that Apple isn't going to concede the low-end to other companies. If indeed Apple does release a $99 iPhone nano, it'll be even more clear that Apple is addressing the entire market and not just the high end, taking a page right out of the iPod playbook.

Re: louisgray.com: 10 Predictions for 2009 In the World of Tech

Artem Russakovskii — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 23:59:11 -0000

Samsung is also making a phone due in Q2 of 2009. I agree with you on the Android. 2009 will be its year (and even more so afterward).

Re: louisgray.com: 10 Predictions for 2009 In the World of Tech

Alexander Muse — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 21:57:13 -0000

Most of us who opposed Obama (conservatives) have been fairly happy with Obama. Privately, and ironically, we are fairly confident that Obama will govern far closer to the center than McCain would have. I think most of the anti-Obama activity/activism is on hold. Now if Obama swerves to the left you can expect conservatives to start speaking up, but I think he will have a longer than usual grade period (i.e. given the economic issues we face).

Re: louisgray.com: 10 Predictions for 2009 In the World of Tech

Alexander Muse — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 21:53:28 -0000

I think the G1 is a great first pass. Think about the fact that they had only 4 months to get the phone out the door, while at the same time finishing the operating system. I think the G1 is a great handset if you take that into consideration. Motorola is ONLY making Android based handsets, HTC is working on three more Android handsets, LG is making a handset, Lenovo has a handet in production and so on. Don't worry - you will soon see an array of handsets that meet the needs of kids, adults, virtual keyboard fans, real keyboard fans, business users, gamers and so on. I am so pumped about Android's opportunity I can hardly stand it - can you tell?

I love the iPhone - but Apple can support only so much innovation. How silly would it be for Apple to release 20 different iPhone versions? I don't think they have the ability or the desire to meet the needs all all users. The fact that Android is open means everyone can innovate - some phones will suck, but many others will rock.

Re: louisgray.com: 10 Predictions for 2009 In the World of Tech

Alexander Muse — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 21:50:12 -0000

:) You're welcome. I think the fact that T-Mobile is going to offer the G1 for free in Europe means it will penetrate much faster than the iPhone did in the US. Obviously, Europe is MUCH bigger than the US and this alone should mean Android is going to have a good year. I agree completely that the IPhone has a huge lead - a lead Android won't come close to matching until late 2010.

Re: louisgray.com: 10 Predictions for 2009 In the World of Tech

Guest — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 20:22:34 -0000

If all of your predictions come true, people will think you're a seer

Re: louisgray.com: 10 Predictions for 2009 In the World of Tech

Heri — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 20:18:16 -0000

i thought SAI would be a perfect fit for NYT

also seeing clusterstock and their coverage, it shows that they like money more than they hate the NYT

Re: louisgray.com: 10 Predictions for 2009 In the World of Tech

David Williams — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 19:18:24 -0000

Good read, thanks Louis. 1 and 2 are spot on.

I would add that in terms of delivering news in real-time that citizen journalism and a croudsoursed delivery mechanism will me more closely integrated with main stream news sources.

Services like NowPublic.com will really come to the forefront and start making more of an impact.

Re: louisgray.com: 10 Predictions for 2009 In the World of Tech

craigbbaker — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 19:05:44 -0000

iPhone will continue to lead for 2009, but expect to see Android build momentum. This will rely on some decent hardware entering the market in 2009. I don't think we can make comparison between the iphone and ipod as they are very different devices. The simplicity of function of the ipod made for a successful closed device. iPhone has a the lead in native applications, but iFart and iBoob won't be enough to keep the party going.
Android will gain traction by undercutting the iphone on function and price. Except to see Android running on low cost hardware. This is where Android will have the edge, following Android down the budget path won't be for Apple.

Re: louisgray.com: 10 Predictions for 2009 In the World of Tech

Louis Gray — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 17:42:07 -0000

#9 is off the wall. But I was just giving it some thought. There is a
vocal extremist minority that despises Obama, and they were worked up
into a froth during the campaign. I am hoping that a mere Web page
manipulation is the worst we could see from their kind in 2009, but
there are a lot of stupid, ill-minded people out there, unfortunately.
As for the SS, they'll know it wasn't me. I'm not interested and not
capable.

Re: louisgray.com: 10 Predictions for 2009 In the World of Tech

Louis Gray — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 17:40:08 -0000

I like your predictions, especially 1-4. I think #6 is unlikely, as
Blodget and SAI clearly dislike the NYT and look like they want it to
fail.