Top Seven Social Media, Online Marketing, and Internet Trends for 2009

What do you think will be the great emerging media and online trends for the upcoming year? What are your predictions about the latest trends people will be buzzing about in 2009 and 2010?

First, crowd sourcing will be a huge social media trend for 2009. Crowd souring has the potential to take off pretty big, although i don’t see the online movement in that direction. The launch of Predictify suggest such a conclusion. Also, Idea Blob has been fairly successful. There are a number of crowd sourcing creative (graphic design and video) that are bubbling to the surface beyond the e-lance model. This will only continue to increase as the need for outsourcing and budget cutting continues in 2009. The trend known as crowd funding may also see an upward and exciting trajectory. (See also: Springwise and Top Crowd sourcing Resources, Websites, + Companies)

Second, 2009 will see a re-newed focus on technology efficiency and productivity. This may push the need for filtering and make 2009 the Year of the Editor. The launch of Filtrbox has been huge in creating a better filter for the web and specifically RSS. Alltop has been another great filter for the web. I hear that Shel is working on a project in this area, but I think its longer term. The need is particularly acute in the hyper local, event, and mobile space.

Third, leveraging offline connection with online connection should be a big internet trend in 2009. Certainly the unconference movement (Podcamp, Barcamp, and almost anything else with the -camp name on it. Did you know there was a Cupcake Camp??? Yum!!! Sign me up.) and Meet up have pushed for more person to person contact, however the pressence of twitter along with the burgeoning mobile market make this a place for great innovation and great potential ROI. One of the best solutions to social networking overstrech is to provide tangible solutions. Some of this may take the form of Jellys and co-working, while others will around Meetups and Craigslist. Tribes, movements, and brands that are able to leverage offline connection will create a unique market space for themselves and will create more sustainable tribe longevity and intensity. Whether Tweet-up like events, blogs, or hubs like Ning drive this connection, it will certainly be a fantastic market differentiator. One social network who leads in this area is Yelp. Photojojo has also expanded and improved on this space. People crave real people to people connection. Will others follow in 2009?

Fourth, mobile and iPhone will continue to see massive user and application growth. Realistically, the surface has only been scratched here. As the price falls, the iPhone will continue to go mainstream and pick up users. Alternatively, can the iPhone get people to switch from a Crackberry? Ultimately, the cult of Mac may be put to the test in this regard. Luckily Mac is also empowered by developers who are rapidly putting out the next best iPhone application you will be reading and raving about in 2009.

Fifth, video driven communities that drive conversation will take off in social media. Winelibrary TV, Epic FU, and The Politico Playbook (aka Kotecki TV) have shown what video can do. Momversation, sponsored by Target, is driving conversation and community around the issues of moms. The video serves as a fantastic differentiator, creates emotional connection, and is potentially truly remarkable content.

Sixth, monetization will prove to be huge as more startups have to confront bugetary and cost-cutting issues. Contextual ads and affiliates may be surpassed by newer models for collaborative monetization. Although, the former seem more scalable for the moment. If niche companies went after the best in a given industry to serve as a filter, this space would be far easier for creative new content creators to navigate and would create a rich root system upon which open source solutions and micro-enterprise can flourish. (See also Tip Joy and Chip In)

Additional Startup Trends and Technology Questions for 2009:
Don’t call it a comeback: Message boards and wikis will make a resurgence both for internal communication and community conversation. This new era of message boards will have more social, aggregation, mobile and integrated features. (Gary Vanerchuk at Wine Library TV has one)

Everybody, everybody get your collaboration on. As de-centralized workspaces make social media a necessity for many startups and entrepreneurs, simple and productive project collaboration like Basecamp and Pivotal Tracker will also see a large boom.

As transparency and accountability increases in government, via initiatives like Change.gov and the Sunlight Foundation, companies will increasingly open up. As corporate and government social media expands, the principles of self-organization and increased transparency will.

Will semantic web or hyper-local be big next year? Only time will tell if Hyper-local social media will make a bigger name for itself. The combination of the hugeness of mobile, twitter, and real world connection make the hyper-local a great source of innovation. Hyperlocal Blogger can keep us updated. (Tips for Hyperlocal bloggers

Original Article – http://compassioninpolitics.wordpress.com/2008/11/16/five-top-social-media-and-web-trends-for-2009/