Just a little Cooqy

With 2007 just around the corner, I thought it would be fun to peer ahead and see what the new year may have in store for the Internet. To make it even more fun, I will express each prediction as a quatrain, too.

In no particular order, here are my five predictions for the Internet in 2007:

Prediction #1: Internet Startups will flourish

As good as 2006 may have been, I think that Web 2.0 is a long-term and sustainable build-out phase of the Internet (see my post about this below). The recent YouTube acquisition will be seen in historical perspective as the start of a new wave of M&A activity.

Internet startups will be smaller and leaner, but the M&A valuations will grow steeper. As a result, people will wonder “how did those two guys sell their startup for that much money so fast?”. A few magazine covers will have some of these guys grinning like Cheshire cats.

Instead of more MySpace or YouTube clones, watch for interesting ideas implemented as widgets.

Quatrain #1:

The year 2007, seventh month,
From the other valley will come a great King of none:
The world too late will not be without debates,
Of him who will cause all his followers to weep

Prediction #2: E-commerce 2.0 will start getting traction

Social websites and now video have had their time in the Web 2.0 sun. E-commerce hasn’t yet gotten any of this attention, primarily because no new innovations have been widely applied to E-commerce.

Rich Internet Apps and widgets, like those Cooqy provides for eBay, will start to be seen as necessary components for E-commerce companies.

Quatrain #2:

Seven and two thousand, born on the third of the ninth,
They will make an entry between ropes of thorns:
The hungry masses ache,
For the hidden nectar that eludes none

Prediction #3: Goodbye, Meg

After failing to monetize both the China market and the Skype acquisition, Meg Whitman determines that eBay’s best days are behind and decides to leave while “on top”.

She may decide to leave after orchestrating a merger deal, as a way of providing a graceful exit.

Quatrain #3:

Two suitors of the powerful Queen emerge,
Across two worlds they do tremble in bitter angst:
Prey for one that wolves hasten the end,
For the victor’s fate shall be worse

Prediction #4: Rich Internet Applications begin to go mainstream, but as widgets

Rich Internet Applications become fashionable, but in a widget format. OpenLaszlo and Macromedia’s forthcoming Apollo platform gain momentum as the development tools of choice for constructing RIAs.
Look for fancy video editing RIAs to support customizing YouTube videos. Also watch for RIA’s powering more and more E-commerce.

Finally, I predict that enterprises will start experimenting with RIA technology to power business applications, primarily via AJAX.

Quatrain #4:

The illegitimate girl, alone through a window does stare,
Across bloodied fields strewn with brothers from afar:
The Great Battle scars flesh from bone, sight and smell,
With unhappy reluctance are treasures divided

Prediction #5: MySpace gets greedy

MySpace decides to block all 3rd-party widgets, replacing them with their own home-grown versions. Users complain, but MySpace holds firm. As a result, users look to other social websites where they can freely express themselves.

Quatrain #5:

The southern Duke violates the western King,
He will impose for the treason committed:
Immature ones and sycophants rue their wisdom,
Never were their supporters so wronged