Top 10 Predictions for 2008
In view of the upcoming New Year, I want to share this information, which actually came from the Yugatech blog on what we could expect will happen in our internet life. I have included my inputs among them.
1. At least one blogger will get published. It will be a book about a blog, not a book about blogging.
I am not surprised about this. There are already tons of blogs having their posts published and sold in various bookstores. Have you seen the books from Postsecret.com.
2. More bloggers with bow down to Google’s wrath, drop TLA and all other link ads. Matt Cutts will personally see to it that those who put out links because of any form of sponsorship will get their day in Google hell.
Okay, I have to admit I’m one of those who still uses Google Adsense, TLA and other links ads. Yet, somehow I find it hard to believe that these will easily go away. The internet has provided a way for many people to earn extra income. Even if, let’s say, these will go away there would be, I bet, other ways for people to be able to learn extra income online.
3. Mobile Advertising will significantly rise. And no it’s not AdSense for Mobile but AdMob. The iPod Touch, iPhone, N95 and upcoming Nokia Touchscreen S60 devices will push this. The web will slowly move on to the mobile phone.
With the way mobile phones are being used nowadays and how people continously use them to bring ‘EVERYTHING’ they digitally have at their disposal, advertising will definitely go to a whole new level.
4. Facebook will be the next Friendster. Everyone will be on Facebook that it won’t be that cool anymore. It will fade away, in favor of a newer fad.
Have you seen how many social networks are there already?! I was never one to continously join one social network group one after another even when I am invited. My friendster account is enough for me as of the moment and I even rarely update that as I have a blog to regularly pore my heart into. In truth though, I have heard that Facebook is gaining more popularity. As for Friendster, well, it is a household term but one that is remembered being the first in its field but is eventually loosing to something potentially deemed better.
5. Bloggers will blog less and flock more on Twitter. It needs to get bought though in order to survive. Maybe by Yahoo. Google already went with Jaiku 3 months ago.
Sorry I can’t comment much on this. I don’t know Twitter. XD But then, certain sites have survived because of search engine giants buying them. It wouldn’t be a surprise really.
6. More bloggers with join main stream media. It will more likely be broadcast media rather than print.
With the way internet is dominating lives and how video internet is making waves of propagating information to everyone, video is the key to success. XD
7. Adsense will lose its age-old glory, thanks to prediction #2 and the fall of the US dollar.
I have to honestly say that I am feeling the wrath of this fact. 
8. A 2010 Presidential candidate will blog, and will actually write it himself/herself.
Almost everyone knows what a blog is how blogs can be a PR campaign to sweeten the image of a company or of a potential Presidential candidate.
9. Podcasting will continue to fade. Unless, there’s a good model that presents itself, it will be hard to continue producing podcasts. Just look at what happened to PodTech (a podcast network) in the US.
I only see the potential of podcasts when it comes to downloading educational materials for language and such. As for mp3 downloads, well there is a problem with that.
10. Local e-commerce will finally take a huge leap forward, thanks in part to Paypal. Let’s just hope that this doesn’t make the hackers/crackers/phishers work double-time.
This is what I call an early Christmas gift for Philippine bloggers from Paypal. Hooray!
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The Importance of A Good Design
Your website is the hub of your online business; it is the virtual representation of your company whether your company exists physically or not. When you are doing business online, people cannot see you physically like how they could if they were dealing with an offline company. Hence, people do judge you by your covers. This is where a good design comes in.
Imagine if you are running an offline company. Would you allow your salespersons to be dressed in shabby or casual clothes when they are dealing with your customers? By making your staff wear professionally, you are telling your customers that you do care about quality. This works simply because first impressions matter.
Similarly, the same case is with your website. If your website is put together shabbily and looks like a 5 minute “quick fix”, you are literally shouting to your visitors that you are not professional and you do not care for quality.
On the opposite, if you have a totally professional looking website layout, you are giving your visitors the perception that you have given meticulous attention to every detail and you care about professionalism. You are organised, focused and you really mean business.
On the other hand, you should also have anything related to your company well designed. From business cards to letterheads to promotional brochures, every little bit matters. This is because as you grow your business, these items become the face of your business. Once again, think of the “salesperson dressed shabbily” anology, and you will get my point.
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Mistakes To Avoid When Using Web Templates
Website templates are very affordable and they save you a lot of effort and time when you want to create a new layout for your website. However, a lot of people make mistakes in the process of choosing and using a web template and end up with something that was unlike the image they had in mind. Here are some guidelines to help you avoid those mistakes.
The first obvious mistake you should be aware of is using a template that is very popular. If many people use the same template, your website will not appear unique at all and your credibility as a solid, different website will be tarnished. In other words, you will appear generic just like your next-door neighbours.
To whole point of using a web template is to save time and effort. You just change the title and appropriate details and you’re done. The biggest mistake one makes is to customize the template beyond recognisation. While that may be good in the sense that you’re creating a unique graphic, you’re defying the very purpose of using a web template — saving time and effort.
However, on the opposite side, if a template you purchase is suitable but some changes must be made to suit your site’s theme, then you will have to take some time to make the changes. For example, you can find a very nice template that suits your hobby site except the original designer has put an image of stamps in the header. You can find images of garden plants and spades to replace the stamps for your gardening hobby site. However, do only make the necessary changes and don’t redesign the whole template.
In some circumstances, some people simply make the wrong choice of templates. This is a very subjective issue but you have to be careful in selecting templates to suit your audience. Do not choose templates just because they are pretty, choose them because they serve your purpose.
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Make It Easy To Buy From Your Site
Convincing your prospects to purchase from you is a hard job, but have you ever thought that you’re making the process twice as difficult for both parties if your prospects are convinced but don’t know how to buy from you? No matter how good you are at convincing your prospects, they won’t buy if they find the process cumbersome.
First, you will want to check that people can find your order form easily and hassle-free. You can write a clear, concise paragraph to direct your prospects to your order form so that you can minimize the chances of them getting lost. You can also reduce the chances of losing prospects by putting a prominent link to your order page from every other page on your site.
Also, do you offer multiple payment options? Some people may feel comfortable paying via Paypal, some may only want to pay with their credit card and others might want to send a cheque. The more options you offer, the better your chances of covering your prospects’ desired payment method. After all, it wouldn’t make any sense to sell hard to a prospect only to find that they won’t be able to pay you when they want to.
On the other hand, you will want to prove that you are a credible merchant. Is your order form secured using encryption technology? You would want to look into SSL for this. You can also offer a money back guarantee so that people will feel confident about buying from you. How about after sales support? Who do they contact when they have problems after purchasing?
Alternatively, you can add customer testimonials, your contact information, address, and so on to boost your prospects’ confidence. Make them feel safe about buying something from you, a total stranger to them on the other end of the Internet.
As a conclusion, it would be very pitiful if you sold hard and sold well to a prospect and something goes wrong when he or she is ready to pay. Eliminate any chances of that to maximize your profits!
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