It's time for our annual predictions post, in which the ReadWriteWeb authors look forward to what 2009 might bring in the world of Web technology and new media.
Looking back at our 2008 Web predictions, we got some of them right! "The big Internet companies will [embrace] open standards" (Google, Yahoo and others did this); "Mobile web usage will be a big story in 2008" (check!); "Web Services platforms will be a fierce battleground" (Microsoft Azure and Google App Engine were released and AWS grew). We also got some wrong, including most of our acquisition picks! Digg, Twitter, Zoho, Tumblr - all remain independent. Not to be deterred, we've made new acquisition predictions for '09... although the names will be familiar ;-)
We just pointed out Audiolizer as one of the three music services you should try next year, and thanks to a slew of new features the developers implemented this week, we think it has become an even more compelling service. At its core, Audiolizer is similar to a lot of other online music services that let you stream music for free, but now, you can also import your iTunes library to Audiolizer and take your own music with you anywhere you go.
In July of this year, Google finally gave webmail users a way to make sure that Gmail always used SSL - the protocol that encrypts connections to prevent hijacking. Through a flip of switch in Gmail's settings, users could rest assured that their email was at least less vulnerable, if not totally secure from hackers. However, Gmail is not the only Google-based web application where you may be storing personal data. Your files stored in Google Docs should be protected, too. But are they?
Do you want your Facebook friends to know where you are and what you're doing at all times? That's now possible thanks to mobile social network Brightkite and its recent integration with Facebook. Through the addition of Facebook Connect, which is quickly proving itself to be more than just a simple way to log into web sites, Brightkite users can automate publishing their location to Facebook.
Here at ReadWriteWeb, we're big proponents of the Open Stack. As such, we've been encouraging you to participate in the OpenID Foundation Board elections, throughout December. Hopefully, you got the chance to participate, because the elections have come to a close. The OpenID Foundation has announced its new Board.
Much has been written lately about the rise of the API.
Offering a programming interface to an online service is now standard practice amongst this generation of web companies. Through APIs, we get to enjoy a range of innovative Twitter clients, wide
availability of maps and location information, custom search engines, and more. However, delivering superior user experience
on major platforms should be as much of a priority as opening up via an API.
According to a report by the Financial Times, some of the larger music labels are looking into creating a single destination site for their artists' video content. The Financial Times cites two unnamed label representatives who argue that Hulu (and not YouTube) would be the most likely partner for this venture.
Five years ago Lee LeFever was an online community manager for a B2B healthcare company called Solucient. Today, his voice has been heard by millions of people around the world, making strange new applications feel easy to use and offering some of the clearest explanations of how the Internet is changing.
LeFever is the founder of Common Craft and his story is an inspiring one.
If you imagine Brian Eno doing a Twitter-like anonymous messaging application for the iPhone, and then mix in a good dose of PostSecret and a somewhat belated holiday spirit, you might just come up with something akin to Smule's Zephyr. Zephyr (iTunes link) lets you write messages and draw pictures with snow on your screen and simultaneously creates sounds based on how quickly you draw. After you finish your drawing, you can then anonymously release it to the rest of the world. Zephyr is available for the iPhone and the iPod touch and costs $0.99.
When your company owns the biggest open source code repository online, the most venerable geek news aggregator there is and many geeks' favorite place to shop for wacky stuff - what do you do next? Hopefully we're about to find out, because the owners of SourceForge, SlashDot and ThinkGeek are apparently working on a new project.
One of the most interesting ways to get an idea where companies of interest are headed is by watching who they hire. That's one of the reasons why we launched Jobwire, our site tracking who gets hired in tech and new media. SourceForge, also the name of SourceForge and Slashdot's parent company, has made a couple of interesting hires lately.
