Consensus Top 10 2008 Technology Predictions

I've collected 2008 technology predictions from over 30 sources.  From these lists I've culled the top 10 technology predictions for 2008.  The list below is in order of popularity - the more the trend was mentioned the higher it is on the list.  For each trend I've included a quote from one of the forecast sources that I think best represents the consensus. 

1.  Mobile Computing Takes Off - on almost every list in some form, mobile computing is by far the top trend.  From the ReadWriteWeb blog:

"Mobile web usage will be a big story in 2008.  It's already big in many parts of the world; and Westerners are about to get hooked.  With new mobile devices that makes web surfing less painful, people will be more and more connected away from their computers."

2.  Social Networking Becomes Mainstream - the second most popular trend, most feel that online social networking will continue its torrid growth and be used by almost half of all Internet users.  From eMarketer:

"(In 2008) about 44% of consumers will use social networking at least once a month.  Although MySpace and Facebook will continue to dominate the market, changes are afoot that will extend social networking activities beyond a single desitnation stie and inton many other facets of the consumer Internet experience"

3.  Mobile Social Networking Arrives - Ok, this is redundent with the top 2 predictions.  But it was mentioned as a separate trend by most of the forecasts.  Ypulse describes this as it relates to teens, but their description also represents what the predictions say in general:

"2008 is the year this will really begin to take off with teens - mostly as another way to check email, comments, etc. via cellphone since MySpace and Facebook have replaced email as the way teens message each other."

4.  Industry Consolidation - most prediction lists include some form of industry consolidation occurring in 2008.  A number of different segments are mentioned - Web 2.0, software, hardware, old media, new media - as well as start-ups in general.  From Adam at Mashable:

"As someone that reads through countless startup pitches and looks at hundreds of new web sites weekly, I can say with some sense of authority that there are too many companies chasing too many of the same ideas."

5.  Cloud Computing/Web Services/Software as a Service - this topic got a lot of publicity in the second half of 2007 so it is no surprise to see it on the list for 2008.  The ReadWriteWeb said:

"Web services platforms will be a fierce battleground in '08, with Amazon, Microsoft, Google, Mozilla and other competing to provid 'Web OS' and online storage to consumers.  Unfortunately this may spell the end of a number of startups in this space."

6.  Facebook and Google - normally I wouldn't include companies on a trend list, but these two were consistently mentioned in almost all the prediction lists.  Facebook was mostly mentioned for becoming mainstream in 08 as well as the web home for many.  Google gets mentioned across a wide range of areas.

Also interesting is who is not mentioned.  IBM, Oracle, Microsoft, MySpace, SAP and Yahoo are barely mentioned or not mentioned at all. 

7.  Internet Disruption - several forecasts talked about the Internet slowing due to increased traffic and the increasing amount of online video.  Several talked about broader disruptions due to terrorist attacks or wide spread criminal activity.  From the Economist:

"The Internet is not about to grind to a halt, but as more and more users clamber aboard to download music, video clips and games while communicating incessantly by email, chat and instant messaging, the information superhighway sometimes crawls with bumper-to-bumper traffic."

8.  Green IT - I thought this would be higher given all the publicity given to the environment in 2007.  Gartner did have it first on their list, saying:

"This one is taking on a bigger role for many reasons, including increased awareness of environmental danger; concern about power bills; regulatory requirements; government procurement rules; and a sense that corporations should embrace social responsibility."

9.  Gadgets - the iPhone and Kindle sparked a lot of interest in new gadgets in 2007, and Google's announcement of the Android mobile development platform led many to forecast a wide range of new computing devices in 2008.  From IDC:

"Web gadgets will further extend the Internet.  Following in the footsteps of Apple's iTouch and Amazon's Kindle, a new class of devices will fill the gap between notebook PCs and smartphones.  These will radically change the online marketplace, including fueling the acceleration of location based services. 

10.  Unstructured Data Tools Will Emerge - this was mentioned in several forms including forecasts around meta data and early forms of the semantic web.  Some of the predictions in this area were quite techy, but IDC said:

"The sudden expansion of social networking will lead to a tsunami of unstructured data.  This will lead to the emergence of "Eureka 2.0" software that combines text analytics, sentiment extraction, and related technologies to distill the "wisdom of crowds."

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[Annie Britts]

It has been three years since this prediction and I should say that those came out well as predicted. As time goes by, the improvement of mobile and computer service technology has been increasingly popular and useful for the everyman, to the point that it is easier to conduct business with it. At my small online-based business in Markham, I've been using various social media to my advantage, to widen my reach to my potential customers.