| Top 10 Winners Predicted for 2008 After looking into | | | | Digital data and tracking is at an all time high. Privacy |
| my crystal ball, I have made a cluster of predictions | | | | concerns appear to be taking a backseat to cool new |
| about what will be hot, and what will be not so hot in | | | | technology that is likely to label the 21st century. |
| technology for 2008. | | | | 10. Prosthetics / Bionic |
| 1. Video | | | | The revolution of evolution. The devastating limb |
| YouTube has not shown any signs of slowing down. | | | | injuries to soldiers is expediting the growth in the |
| With the increasing popularity of portability and the | | | | biomedical field of prosthetics. Huge advancements |
| increase of video-viewing technology, the growth of | | | | are being made, and super human limbs are a future |
| video is unlikely to slow down. | | | | possibility. |
| 2. Healthy | | | | Top 10 Losers - What is Not Hot Predicted for 2008 |
| Healthy is in. It is not only fashionable, but now cool to | | | | 1. Lead |
| be healthy. Maybe this will help counter the rise in | | | | Lead and harmful chemicals in toys is definitely out. |
| obesity in the US. Even those who give in to their | | | | 2. Squat Toilets |
| cravings and indulge agree that it is cool to be healthy. | | | | Squat toilets are definitely out! The Olympics in Beijing |
| Organic foods are at an all time high with an increase | | | | will likely westernize the East and introduce them to |
| of roughly 20% per year in the US! This may also be a | | | | modern conveniences of the Western world. |
| top New Year Resolution. | | | | 3. DRM |
| 3. Long Tail | | | | Not much better than #2, digital rights management still |
| The Long Tail is still hot. Small businesses and big | | | | has a number of issues to work out. |
| business are all attempting to capture the famed long | | | | 4. China |
| tail. | | | | Between the claims of spying, rampant pollution and |
| 4. Buy USA | | | | poor quality imports, China is on the outs for 2007. |
| Buying USA is in. The falling dollar has made US | | | | 5. Skinny is Out |
| products more competitive in foreign markets. | | | | Curves are in. |
| Moreover, the quality issues that came to light in 2007 | | | | 6. Blockbuster / Netflix |
| (lead in various Chinese products) have made US | | | | The future is downloading movies to iPods. |
| consumers more conscious about buying US | | | | Blockbuster and Netflix are likely to have a difficult time |
| manufactured products. | | | | in the future. On demand video rentals available for |
| 5. Rich Internet / Interactive Web / Semantic Web / | | | | immediate download offer compact portability and will |
| Web Services | | | | cut into the current video rental markets. |
| The interactive web with user reviews, peer voting, | | | | 7. Orbo |
| and social bookmarking has never been more popular. | | | | Orbo, the promised dynamic new energy source is |
| The Internet has become more personal and | | | | going out. Orbo fell flat, with lots of hype and little to |
| interactive. Contextual content has given way to | | | | show. Perhaps Orbo will prove the naysayers wrong |
| personal preferences. | | | | and make a splash in 2008, but for now Orbo is not |
| 6. Aggregate and Attention Data | | | | hot. |
| Suggested purchases, related purchases, and | | | | 8. MySpace fell to Facebook |
| recommended purchases are now an integral part of | | | | Between perverts and conscientious parents realizing |
| ecommerce. Aggregate data is becoming a critical | | | | the risks associated with MySpace, the social network |
| component of upsells. | | | | toppled. However, it was quickly replaced by |
| 7. Power of the People | | | | Facebook, which promised a higher level of security |
| The collective voice and user-generated content is | | | | (which is proven to be a fallacy). Facebook violated |
| taking the Internet by storm. Yahoo Answers is a | | | | user privacy by sharing purchases with "friends", and |
| pristine twist on the collective voice; it allows visitors to | | | | with the addition of privacy controls, users are still leery. |
| answer questions from others. Good answers are | | | | Social networks not only experienced growing pains |
| rated and users are rated on a point-based system. | | | | but online threats are still an issue and privacy |
| Amazon's MTurk acknowledges the need for humans: | | | | concerns are increasing exponentially. |
| pay people to do things that machines cannot. | | | | 9. Privacy |
| Surprisingly, in a technical society, people still have | | | | Stores tracking purchases, cars equipped with satellite |
| power. | | | | tracking, cell phones tracked, and still few common |
| 8. Going Green | | | | citizens realize or acknowledge how much privacy |
| Going green has never been more popular. With | | | | they have lost over the last 20 years. |
| environmental concerns becoming a global issue, | | | | 10. Piracy |
| saving the planet, protecting resources and living green | | | | For the first time it seems people are beginning to |
| is tantamount to being a responsible citizen. Venture | | | | comprehend the effects of piracy in the software |
| capitalists are not turning a blind eye to the needs of | | | | industry. It seems that software piracy may be on the |
| clean green technology; alternative energy and green | | | | decline and that software piracy is no longer |
| living are attracting interest from deep pockets. | | | | considered cool. |
| 9. Biometrics and Big Brother | | | | |