It takes a lot of courage to release the familiar and seemingly secure, to embrace the new. But there is no real security in what is no longer meaningful. There is more security in the adventurous and exciting, for in movement there is life, and in change there is power.  
–Alan Cohen

So lets get into it… how is our world going to change in 2010? What change is going to power our near future? Here are a few of my ideas.

ONE: Mobile Become King
I’ve written a lot about the end of personal computing, especially the way we think of it. The advances in mobile platforms in just the last six months only reinforce my conviction that the days of the beige box relegated to the corner of the living room are numbered. Even the days of the laptop may be coming to a close. Look for big advances in computing power, battery life, geospatial awareness and constant, ubiquitous connectivity this year. These will be the enabling technology breakthroughs that enable more power in a smaller footprint, and THAT means…

TWO: Smaller Footprint Requires More Efficient Delivery
If you’ve ever tried to lookup a website on a smart phone, even an iPhone or Droid, you know that its not the most fulfilling experience. Lets face it, the vast majority of sites out there today are designed for the desktop monitor. Even with vast improvement in connectivity and bandwidth, users will begin to cull the download pigs from their experience. Google has even said they will begin factoring in load time of a site in their ranking formulas. In 2010, look for sleeker, faster loading, faster-to-the-content data sources. So what loads quickly and has a tiny footprint?….

THREE: Rise of the Feeds
More and more users get their daily fix through feeds and feed readers. Heck, all my daily reading now begins in the feed reader. In fact, the only reason I wind up on a destination site these days is to leave a comment or because a link (probably to a past post HINT HINT) took me there. If I’m following your blog because of the great content you create, then I can get it all right there in one place. Oh, BTW, stop already with only including the first paragraph in the feed. Unless I REALLY like you, that’s a fail and immediate un-follow from me. And with a rise in the popularity of reading feeds, we get…

FOUR: VAST Improvements in Content Aggregation
Ok, so that covers a little more than feed readers, but that’s where we’re going. In addition to reading what Chris Brogan, Rod Kirby and Jeff Jarvis have to say today, at varying times of the day I’m interested in local news, weather, sports, best gas prices, menu specials at my favorite eateries… all those play a part in my interest stream. The trick is filtering those nuggets of news based on my location, mood, activity, destination… any number of parameters. For instance, I’m not particularly concerned with traffic conditions at 10am, because I’m not driving anywhere. But at 5pm, you bet I’m interested. Look for big time improvements in filtering, maybe even learning filters during 2010. And with filters, come…

FIVE: The Need to Monetize the Stream
I’m going to adopt the word stream rather than feed because referring to the feed make me feel like I have to consume it all to get my big-boy, happy-plate sticker. A stream is constantly flowing and I can watch it, dip my toe in it, or jump in head first… then climb out again when I’m ready. Combining that flowing concept with smaller footprints and the ever present need to make money, there will have to be major improvements in how we monetize the stream in 2010. Face it, we all need to get paid and if the only way we’re doing that is with AdSense… an our visitors drop off because they’re reading us in the stream… ??? Following the Google model, it seems that an advertising supported aggregation service would work well. Thing Google Reader with Gmail type ads.

SIX: My Own Private Library
Because the stream is always moving and I still have to sleep every once in a while, I tend to miss things I may be interested in. Wouldn’t it be cool if there was a way to tag, group, and store content and links so I could check them out when I’m back in the game? That is what I refer to as aggregation and it would be totally awesome! It would be even better if it learned from my actions and was able to find new content I might be interested in… kind of like Pandora does for music and Tivo does with Suggestions! Now THAT would be a newspaper I’d be interested in reading every morning… as long as I could read it on my phone or Kindle.

Ok, so there are my 6 Guaranteed Game Changing Predictions for 2010. What do you think? Like ‘em? Hate ‘em? Think I’m way too far afoot? Let us all know in the comments below.

I’m really looking forward to 2010 and I hope you are too. Have a wonderful, productive and profitable year! BTW, if you’re a programmer type… and need some product ideas… re-read this post!

@jtrigsby

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I’ve long been a proponent of the idea that social media marketing, or trying to make sales through “the social media channel” is a beyond a waste of time… it is driving potential business away, never to return. And for everyone’s sanity, including my own, I still feel that way! This past weekend at BarCamp Memphis, I had the opportunity to have some extended discussions that included this very topic. One blog owner was very concerned about having any advertising on their site saying they had made a huge investment gaining the trust of their readership and didn’t want to risk that by selling ads. At the same time, there has to be a viable revenue model or many sites, including some pretty popular ones, will not be able to continue. Well, maybe there is a way…

While reading my way through the feed reader today, I came across a post at Rod Kirby’s Success Center entitled Has Social Media Marketing Changed the Online Sales Landscape? Rod is pretty good about throwing excellent questions out there and this one is no different. And it was while I was reading this post that a possible answer to the social trust / need for revenue delima came to me.

Don’t Hide It… Flaunt It
The metaphors are flooding in at the moment but lets see if I can get this right anyway. We become so concerned with “what will our audience thing” that we forget a pretty important fact… we can talk to them! One blogger that I know recently shared with his audience that he was struggling with revenue, to which he received several comments saying, “we never knew.”

One of the key elements in trust is transparency, which shows off the good and the bad. We usually try really hard to hid the bad when in fact a little more openness about what’s going on could go a long way! So if you have a revenue need, don’t tip-toe around it… put it out there.

“We’ve resisted selling ad space in the past because we value the trust you’ve put in us and don’t want to risk compromising that. The realities of this site however tell us daily we need income, and short of asking for donations, ads is the best way to create revenue.”

Who knows, your audience may be able to help… if they just know of your need.

Select Advertisers With Your Audience In Mind
When we finally do break down and start looking for advertising, we’ll often take whatever we can get. Instead of throwing up ads (or affiliate links!) for the first advertiser that will let you, be more selective. Be the gatekeeper for your audience.

You’ve obviously spent a great deal of time building the trust of your followers, that’s what got this conversation started. Just because you need revenue doesn’t mean you have to violate that trust. In fact, you should guard it even more closely. Choose ads and affiliate that add value to your audience. If you have a local site, deliver coupons to local retailers. If you’re a foodie, free recipes from advertisers (which feature their products of course) will work well. If you cater to the t-shirt and jeans crowd, hawk Busted Tees or make your own products with Zazzle! Whatever you choose, just be sure to do it with your audience in mind!

So Why Do I Think This Will Work
Well, simple actually. Because you’re not taking advantage of your network. The people who visit, that have put their trust in you do not want to be blindsided by spam email, spam posts, or spammy tweets. They follow your site for a reason and, presumably, they like it. If you’re honest with them and tell them why you take ads, most will understand, maybe even help out. If you honestly try to deliver quality products that fit with your audience, any backlash should be minimal and the revenue should start, maybe slowly, but it will start.

What Do You Think?
Ok, there it is… so tell me… am I full of it? Do you think this will work? As a patron of other blogs and sites, how would you react to this kind of development on your favorite web venue? Join the conversation in the comments below and let us know your perspective!

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UVME.com (you vs me dot com) is ready for launch! Its a brand new on-line game platform that changes the way you will play games…forever!

UVME.com has been in beta for a little over a month now and they’re finally ready to launch the site into full production! I’ve been playing around with it for a couple of weeks and got in to do a little beta testing. The games are pretty similar to on-line games you’ve played before, with two big differences.

First, you can challenge your friends (or just find random players) to a game, even games like Arcade Ducks and Fruit Frenzy that you would normally think of as single player games. And now, for the really interesting part…

Of course you can always play for free but if you’re feeling really good about your skills, or just plain lucky, you can play for cash! That’s right! Challenge your opponent to a money game (as little as $1) and if you win, you’re in for some cash! How’s that for a deal, get paid to play games online!

Ok, so what are you waiting for? I don’t know…meet me over at UVME.com and let’s play!

Speaking of a good online MLM opportunity…

There are lots of ways to monetize your life and work at home with your homebased business. One of the best work at home jobs is network marketing and here is one to look at Aprenda Networkmarketing

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