Ever since I spent my winter break at college writing for the school newspaper — and writing a bunch of year-in-review pieces — I’ve had a bad taste in my mouth about year-end roundups and year-forward predictions. I think it’s a good idea to get some perspective on the year, and consider where we’re going, but often these features end up being a bit, well, predictable.
After reading through countless articles summing up changes in media for 2006, I can say the year was a massive breakthrough for online video — and YouTube in particular — as well as for citizen journalism and user-generated content. But I already knew that, and so did you.
And most people take the easy way out when it comes to predictions. They simply re-predict what analysts were saying the year before: Microsoft will buy Yahoo, or eBay will buy Yahoo, or Google will buy anything that breathes. So I decided this year to really put YOU in charge of the Predict-O-Rama for 2007, and asked for your most audacious predictions. Here’s a sampling of some of your more interesting ideas:
> “The notion of a mass market is finally laid to rest, as marketers uncover effective ways to reach clusters of individual consumers that have similar lifestyles, interests and behaviors. At least one big multinational ad agency will fail to evolve, by embracing this transformation. As a result, they will be disregarded as fossils from a bygone era.” — David H. Deans, of GeoActive Group, who explains this more at AlwaysOn
> “The Internet will become a more increasingly multimedia forum. Artists will increasingly turn to the Internet, and blog sites in particular, to showcase their talents. The blogosphere will become the new L.A., the new Nashville, and the new New York where artists will break into the music scene in an independent manner that will eventually render big record companies virtually obsolete.” — Dr. BLT
> “Google will finally deliver a browser and an online video [will] play automatically in it. Of course, there will be a lot of other goodies.” — Ken Leebow
> “Hillary or Barack or John McCain will get one of their ‘VOTE FOR ME’ bumper stickers visible in ‘24’ or some other highly rated TV show. Who knows how far the relationship between Hollywood and politicians will go? We’ll see.” — Frank Baker
> “Either the New York Times or the Washington Post will look at the ‘day pass’ route where a sponsor provides access to content behind the paid barrier (like the Economist and Salon do now). One of the Web 2.0 bloggers will try to charge for content and fail. A major Web 2.0 micromedia/blogger will go under (probably not the same one as tried to charge for content, but you never know).” — Ged Carroll
My favorite prediction also comes from Ged Carroll because it’s the least audacious: “Web 2.0 will just be the web.” (It’s actually a summation of John Battelle’s prediction below.)
For some reason, this “Your Take” blog entry on MediaShift has been inundated over the past few days by spammers who run comments with repeated links to “WebCam Girls,” “WebCam Sex,” and “WebCam Strip.” I will accept that as a prediction that webcam sex will thrive in 2007. How can I argue with that contention when sites such as Stickam are getting media attention in the New York Times just two days into the new year?
As for the other swamis out there beyond the MediaShift realm, here are some of their more entertaining predictions:
> “1) Call me overly logical, but if lonelygirl15 was such a huge step above the completely unknown lonelygirl14, I predict lonelygirl16 will star in ‘Mission Impossible 4.’ 2) Nothing in 2007 will be as big in the world of entertainment as Lindsay Lohan’s funeral. Not only for the speeches by Paris, Britney and Meryl, but for the chance to reminisce about the grandest celebrity era in history.” — Joel Stein, Los Angeles Times columnist in a prediction roundup
> “Apple Computer Inc. unveils an iPod cellphone that is anything but the bride of ‘FrankenPhone,’ the name given its first attempt to put the iTunes music service on Motorola’s clunky Rokr phone.” — Los Angeles Times staffer roundup (note how nobody puts their name on this roundup)
> “Despite Google’s leading market share, Yahoo!‘s Panama launch [of its advertising service], and Microsoft’s substantial search-related investments, Ask.com, part of IAC/InterActiveCorp, is the search engine to watch in 2007. We foresee market share gains, news regarding innovations like Ask X, and progress in paid listings.” — Scott Kessler of Standard & Poor’s, writing for BusinessWeek
> “Content has evolved online, we won’t see new portals per se, but we will see vertical portals, or countless niche sites, some of which produce niche, contextual content along verticals and others who do not create any content but simply aggregate it. As a direct result of intermediation and personalization, a lot of people will drop Digging (I’m using the term here for what Digg represents: the good, bad and ugly of Web 2.0 and not only contributors to Digg) and the like and start doing similar things for themselves.” — HipMojo’s Ashkan Karbasfrooshan, writing at Seeking Alpha
> “A major media outlet will predict that the Web 2.0 bubble has burst or deflated seriously. The prediction will be wrong. I’ve been seeing more and more respected voices out there claiming we’re in a bubble of some sort or another when it comes to Web 2.0. I predicted that the meme will have played out in 2006, and I think I was right, but the underlying foundational strength of what created that meme is far too strong to be a bubble or played out.” — John Battelle, writing on SearchBlog
Want to add something to the mix? It’s never too late to gaze into your crystal ball and share what you see in the comments below.
[Crystal ball photo by Kevin Trotman, with some touch-up in Photoshop by me.]
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Congresswoman Sherri Davis, R-CA, Launches Two New Internet-Only Talk Shows in 2007
Talking on Tuesdays to debut on Tuesdays; Talking on Thursdays will broadcast each Thursday. Says Davis: Expect Some Controversy!
New York, NY (PRINSIDE) January 5, 2007 -- California Congresswoman Sherri Davis, R-CA, known as the "Ann Coulter of Anaheim" for her fierce opposition to flag-burners and illegal immigrants and her unyielding support for the American family, issued a statement today announcing the debut of two new Internet-only talk shows, Talking on Tuesdays and Talking on Thursdays, to be hosted by herself.
Talking on Thursdays, which will be broadcast on the Internet each Thursday, will focus on the top political issues of the day. Davis second show, Talking on Tuesdays, will be broadcast each Tuesday and will focus on the lighter side of life: fashion, film, self-improvement - and tips to viewers on how to acquire the essential people skills that are the keys to success in todays service-oriented society.
The two new shows will be produced by cable televisions Myron Kempelstein. Davis will moderate both shows, and surprise celebrity guests can be expected. Selections from the shows can be seen at these links. http://youtube.com/watch?v=px3NY_V3M44 http://youtube.com/watch?v=EiW9rueA2IE
Typical topics for Davis Talking on Thursdays show will include inside legislative looks at some of Davis signature legislation -- dubbed Sherris War of Ideas by her friends in the American media. Sherris War of Ideas is a pure war of ideas that seeks to portray Democratic proposals as pro-spending, pro-tax or just plain unworkable, notes Davis.
In her premiere edition of Talking on Thursdays, Davis says she plans to go on the attack against the Democratic War in Iraq -- and offer some sensible solutions. Nancy (Pelosi) and I have been engaging in a number of think-tank-style discussions on the issue of the Democratic War in Iraq and I think youll be surprised at the solution weve come up with, says Davis. Most likely the solution we will propose in my premiere show will take the form of some kind of a Grand Bargain but youll just have to tune in to see what our solution to the war really is!
Davis also promises her fans that a special edition of Talking on Thursdays will pay tribute to the many legislative contributions of fellow Californian Bill Thomas, former chair of the House Ways and Means Committee. Around the House, Bill was known as Compassion With a Calculator, says Davis. And there is even talk of legislatively renaming the famous Donner Pass after Bill - and calling it Bill Thomas Way. Because the story of the Donner Pass is really a story about people helping people, people helping people, and thats what Bill was all about as well.
With her second show, Talking on Tuesdays, Davis steps into the television shoes vacated by the recent cancellation of the Megan Mullally Show. Its a much lighter show than my Talking on Thursdays show, says Davis. In one sense, its almost frivolous.
Among the treats in store for viewers of Talking on Tuesdays are dramatic readings by Davis herself from Jack Welchs best-selling book, Winning, and fashion tips on how to attain the Nancy Pelosi look on a shoestring. Not to give too much away, but instead of wearing an 18-inch strand of Tahitian pearls like Nancy does, advises Davis, you can wear a 16-inch strand - and slouch. Davis will also review Mel Gibsons new film, Apocalypto.
Davis who heads the House Entertainment Committee has become known as the Voice of Hollywood in the House, and recently proposed increased trade subsidies to promote Americas D-List celebrities to the world market. Early market research shows a substantial demand for Wilmer Valderamma in nations such as Pakistan and Bolivia, notes Davis. And Kathy Griffin would do very well in Palestine and some of the bordering states, if only we had a way to market her there. And just imagine where Carrot Top could go. It is small baby steps such as these that will help America solve its ever-growing and increasingly menacing foreign trade deficit, says Davis.
Despite the fame and notoriety that typically accompanies the launch of any new broadcast venture, Davis promises not to allow the spotlights to distract her from her legislative mission this year, noting that she has already introduced five Constitutional amendments so far this year. And there are more to come! says Davis with her trademark grin.
Congresswoman Davis, a rising star of the Republican Party, has been gaining traction in political popularity polls recently through a series of think-tank-style town hall meetings. Most recently, Davis told a cheering crowd in rural New Hampshire about her proposed "Bible Repatriation Act," (BRA), which she intends to push through in the coming legislative sessions in order to bring control of the Bible back into the hands of America by requiring that all Bibles be printed in this country.
"Just yesterday, a constituent sent me a copy of a Bible he had acquired that was printed in a foreign country - and I cant tell you which country because of National Security reasons, says Davis. While reading this particular Bible, he discovered that in Kings and then again in Deuteronomy, the sections of the Bible that talk about approved entrances to the human body had been altered somehow during the printing process to include new, unapproved entrances to the human body that the Lord in his wisdom never intended to open up for use. And it is safe to say that this is obviously the work of Americas foreign enemies enemies who are not only anti-American, but also anti-family. Hence my support of BRA. Bring our Bibles home. Bring them home."
As she presses for swift Congressional passage of BRA, Davis continues her work on the rest of her "signature" legislative packages, including the Mandatory Portion Control Act (MPCA), aimed at curbing America's growing obesity problem and "Project SATYR" (Scrapboooking Accelerates Terrific Youth Reading), a program designed to capitalize on the recent "scrapbooking craze" to increase youth reading levels through individual vouchers and major tax-breaks to the American scrapbooking industry.
"One of my favorite new singers, Kelis, sings about how her 'milkshakes' bring all the boys to her yard, and it is this exact same proposition we seeing in regards to scrapbooking and teen literacy," says Davis. "We view teen scrapbooks as the 'milkshakes of teen literacy' that will bring underperforming teen readers to the 'yard' of teen literacy. Let's face it -- if teens won't read about themselves, in their own scrapbooks, then what will they read about? What's wrong with capitalizing on our youth culture's own narcissism to 'trick' underperforming teens right into literacy!"
Davis continues to push for swift passage of her Yoga Mat Cleanliness Act (YMCA) through taped appearances with New York-based actress Sarah Jessica Parker. As Chad Lavigne recently pointed out, Sarah has a remarkable nose. Get her within four feet of an unclean yoga mat, and she can sniff out those tinea cruris germs in a twinkling and that has been useful on more than one occasion! Davis also continues to work with the Congressional Black Caucus to force the racial integration of television's highly popular "The Daily Show;" and is making plans for her Valentines Day introduction of a new legislative package to create Sexy Fridays nationwide.
Prior to responding to the call of democracy, Congresswoman Davis was a star of stage and screen, appearing with show business luminaries such as Helen Hunt, Amy Sedaris, Nathan Lane, Bette Midler, Leslie Kritzer, Woody Allen, Kristin Chenoweth, Paul Dinello, Matthew Broderick, Martin Short and Susan Sarandon. Davis, known widely as the face behind the Pashmina for her role in successfully launching that foreign garment into closets of middle America, skyrocketed to fame in the 1990's with her lively rock-anthem "Baby Dance," which reached No. 4 on the Billboard pop charts. Davis was appointed to her Congressional seat late last year after the tragic death of her husband and was re-elected this November by a "slim but substantial majority." Prior to leaving show business to represent her Congressional district, Davis also played the role of Penny Pingleton in numerous regional performances of "Hairspray."