expertSEM

As the new year gets underway, experts of all stripes have chimed in with their predictions for 2008. Just yesterday I got Morgan Stanley’s probability-weighted forecast for ‘08 (sorry, no link on this). They give a 45% chance of Mild Recession, 15% chance of Stagflation, 25% chance of Deep Recession, with only a 10% chance of any sort of positive result. What are we to do in this era of doom and gloom and impending mortgage meltdown collateral damage?

Luckily for you and I, dear internet reader , the Net will boom, according to our friends at JP Morgan.

While the overarching message is that of net growth, I have a bit more specific theory in mind.

The internet will grow in two distinct, yet inter-related areas: Local Mapping Technologies and Mobile Device Infiltration.

Local Mapping is the logical outgrowth of the consolidation of yellowpage companies with online mapping technologies, and all manner of variations thereof. For years I have been evangelizing Google Maps projects like HousingMaps and Gmap Pedometer, but the era of those free products is evolving towards sophisticated, multi-faceted mapping products. 2007 saw the introduction of enhanced map listings, where the business owner gains control of their publicly distributed information, and a host of other features like Street View for Google Maps, and Birds Eye View on Microsoft Local. All the major players and a a plethora of startups are all taking this line of business very seriously, and for good reason, it is the future of interactive information technology.

Second, we have the infiltration of internet capabilities onto mobile devices. It used to be that your phone was for making calls, now it sends email, calls up maps, takes and sends pictures, or finds a nearby oyster bar. The companies that are involved with this transition, be they big providers like AOL, MapQuest and Yahoo, or small game developers, technology providers, or app developers will do well in ‘08 as enthusiasm and awareness of this trend grows. The big dog in this house is, who else, Google with their continued commitment to Google SMS, Gmail Mobile Apps, Android, and the exciting auction for 700 mHz bandwidth. I’m waiting to see what big announcement they have for this, but it will be BIG! if history is any indication… think market disruptor big.

OK, I’m off singing their praises again, but keep these trends in mind for both business and investing, and you’ll stand to be ahead of the game this year.