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Predicting the future online (c) Jim Edwards - All Rights reserved The psychic Hotline won't help you in this article! However, I want to share my predictions for 2003 and the trends I see affecting how you will use the Internet for both business and pleasure.
Anybody with an email account for more than three days has gotten unsolicited email (referred to as Spam) from people they don't know. These people offer to sell them everything from acne treatment to inkjet cartridges. As federal and state lawmakers weigh into the battle against Spam, you can expect two significant developments this year: First, anti-Spam software sales will skyrocket among home and business users. Unfortunately, unless somebody invents a solution that actually works well, the end results won't fit the promises made to sell the products. On a side note: It will prove very interesting to see how many of the anti-Spam product vendors will actually use Spam to sell their wares! Second, anti-Spam sentiment will massively affect legitimate online business owners trying to communicate with their customers via e-mail. New services will spring up to help even the smallest businesses secure their communications with customers and avoid the "Spam filters."
The use of multimedia, including video, pictures, and sound, along with other interactive devices, will really take off this year. However, the proliferation of multimedia will not occur because of higher Internet access speeds through DSL or cable. Cheaper and better computers, combined with improved "streaming" software technology, will drive this multimedia trend. As computers and web servers on either end of the information exchange get faster at encoding and decoding data, the need for broadband access lessens.
Expect auction sites to see all-time highs in sales and revenues this year. With a sluggish economy, people look to save and make money any way they can, and buying through eBay makes it easier than ever.
Search giant Yahoo will rebound this year from a couple of poor business decisions. Expect them to regain the top spot as the world's number one search portal by the end of 2003.
Using "guerrilla marketing" tactics, small businesses will spread like wildfire online. These businesses won't bother with startup capital, or IPO's; they'll simply reach profitability within 30 days or close up shop. Also, expect to see "Big" business start adapting these techniques by creating special units within larger corporations that reward the entrepreneurial online spirit. So take the challenge! Cut out this article, put it on your bulletin board, and 12 months from now we can all see if my psychic abilities rate with the most popular 900 numbers or whether flipping a coin would have achieved the same or better results. :-)
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