We’ve got about two weeks here at the One Degree offices (virtual as they may be) before we break for the holidays. To wrap up the year in fine style I’ve asked some of the One Degree Contributors to provide us with a rewind of 2006 and a fast forward to 2007 to give you something substantial to chew on as the days get shorter. Jon Lax shares his thoughts on the highs and lows of this year and what we can expect next year…
1. Rewind – What trends in Internet marketing surprised you in 2006? Large clients embracing sites like YouTube for distributing their TV commercials. Surprising in that they see the value in handing something over to a community and letting it go. The Dove campaign was really a great proof that excellent creative does not need to be placed in paid media to be successful.
2. Rewind – Did you add any new tools to your online marketing toolkit in 2006? Video. Never before have we done as much video production and concepting. We now have 3 people with video editing, writing and production skills. We had 1 in 2005.
3. Fast Forward – What do you see as the biggest trends in Internet Marketing in 2007? Microbuys. Doing really quick and niche advertising. Creative custom created for placements. Banner ads will begin a slow death as CTRs continue to plummet.
4. Fast Forward – At the end of 2007, what do you expect we’ll be looking back at as overhyped? User generated content will reach a saturation point. How many times can you watch someone get kicked in the crotch?
5. Fast Forward – Any SPECIFIC predictions for 2007? Buy-outs, bubbles bursting, records broken, reputations toppled, break-out companies?
- Microsoft will have a terrible 2007. Vista will be a failure. People will wonder why they waited all this time for a Windows update that is full of security holes and still clunky. Corporations will begin looking at Apple and Linux as serious contenders.
- The bubble will burst in a small way. The Web can’t support 250+ video sharing sites, or 100+ social networking sites. There will be a shake out with a lot of sites closing down. But it will not have the same impact that the first bubble did since all the financing is private and not on the public markets.
- IPTV will begin to show its power in 2007 as an alternative to cable and satellite. The new Apple ITV box will be the start of the disruption of TV. PVR will seem like a minor annoyance to what is about to be unleashed.