I thought it would be a good idea to sum up my views on what’s going to happen in 2009 around the digital publishing and marketing sectors.
- Facebook and other social networking websites will continue to grow in size/market share due to the current economic conditions as people spend more time at home instead of going out.
- We will see a number of high profile online retailers go out of business.
- Apple and iTunes will continue to dominate the digital music sector. iTunes will also introduce social media features.
- Sales on the high street will continue to decline.
- Cloud computing will become the next big thing as companies strive to save money.
- Google will change their ranking algorithms in a bigger way than ever before. Possible inbound links will be discounted from the rankings systems.
- Twitter will continue to grow but it must release its commercial model if it wishes to stay in business and ahead of a rival product Orkut.
- Search engine optimisation and digital marketing budgets will be cut as companies try to save money.
- Communities will become and more important part of a websites offering improving both SEO and user loyalty.
- Mobile Internet will make more inroads but still won’t take off for another couple of years. The iPhone and Google Android have helped but there are still millions of users out there that don’t have a 3G enabled device
- OpenID will continue to be rolled out across the Internet.
- Online applications such as Microsoft Office will become common place.
- Lifestreams will take to evolve and become common place.
- New online advertising formats will be introduced as agencies and clients look for new ways to promote their products/brands.
Have you got any predictions?
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
Some that quickly come to mind are:
The value of display/banner advertising will diminish rapidly
The excitement around social media will decline
Privacy and information control will become a major concern for users
Simon T Small’s last blog post..Dress to impress
Yeah budgets will be cut for marketing strategies that don’t have a strong ROI compared to print or television. At the same time though, digital is fairly low cost compared to above the line so I am on the side that digital will be fairly buffered.
hannah’s last blog post..For Students: Help out the Brisbane creative industries
I agree but the thing with TV and print advertising is that its very in your face and is best for branding. Everyone in your company will know that you are doing marketing which is good for the marketing team. Online advertising is mostly silent but most effective and provides the best ROI for direct response type campaigns.
I also agree with you Simon in that the value of standard network display advertising will drop sharply. Its all going to be tactical in 2009. I can also see OpenID opening a can of worms with the general public once it becomes an everyday tool.