Comprehension (Business)
As we enter 2008 I still don’t believe that the majority of the Business sector ‘gets’ what newmedia is and how important it is to the most important aspect in their business, their customers. But 2008 is the year they will finally ‘get it’ and comprehend that they have to engage this medium. The next question is after they comprehend its importance, will they include it as part of their business (internally and externally). It is yet to be determined if the ‘inclusion’ stage will be the second half of 2008 or the ‘big thing’ for 2009.

Mobile
I’m not talking about the mobile phone here, please note the heading is MOBILE. 2008 is the year where people will not have to rely on being linked through cables, and hence their desktop computer, to be connected to their media’s and digital conversations. This is a technology evolution that will free people to connect to anyone, from anywhere through the medium of their choice, text, photo, video, audio and through the platform of their choice. This is a major revolution which will change the way people connect and the ability of companies to connect with people. OldMedia (print, tv, radio, static web) will take a hit in 2008 as people choose HOW and WHEN they consume their entertainment and media.

Video
2008 is the year of video or as others like to call it, motion. Technology has advanced to the point where it has become easy to capture, deliver and consume video content. This is going to open new ways for people to connect through live broadcasting (from mobile devices), through faster networks (faster delivery) and more content being made available from many sources. 2008 will see the quality of content rise as professional start generating content for specifically for digital delivery.
Time-Shift Media
Television and radio (oldmedia) have a serious problem, they dictate the time and place where you consume their content. 2008 will see a major shift away from the constraints of ‘programming’ to allowing the user to dictate when, where and how they will consume their content. This is called time-shift media. Basically it means that the user can load the media on any device they want (Computer, iPod, Mobile, etc) and then watch it whenever and wherever they want. They can pause, rewind, stop and start again at a later time. Total user empowerment. Once users shift to time-shift content they will find id hard to transition back to a system where the broadcaster dictates everything. Is this bad? Absolutely not!!! This opens the opportunity for a new system to develop with new economies and new business models for the creation of content for the user. These models are yet to be developed, but we will see them developed and tested in 2008.