Top Media Share Predictions for 2008
Last week I had the opportunity to attend the PRSA’s “Tech Media Predicts ’08” media panel at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View. Victoria Barret of Forbes, Don Clark from the Wall Street Journal and blogger Robert Scoble were among the journalists participating in the panel which was moderated by Venture Capitalist Ann Winblad.
I am not sure if it was the hour long cocktail hour before the panel or the nature of the event, but all of the journalists participating in the discussion were relaxed and quite candid with their opinions and predictions for 2008. Kara Swisher was especially forthcoming with her opinions and provided some of the best quotes from the night with her commentary on her partner in crime, Walt Mossberg, and pointing out the Facebook was stuck out in Siberia with the worst table in the room.
One of the biggest surprises from the night was the prediction that enterprise software is going to see renewed attention in 2008 as many of the “widget companies” and ones without a business model are acquired or go out of business. After a year so heavily focused around Facebook, the iPhone and Google I have to admit that it was a pleasant surprise to many of us in the room who are working with some really exciting B-to-B companies.
Tom Foremski, who also attended the event, included some of his thoughts and takeaways in the event in a recent blog post - Top Flacks and Hacks Gather For Silicon Valley PRSA Gala Dinner.
As the discussion came to a close each person provided a final prediction for 2008; here is what each person said:
• Don Clark: virtual worlds like 2nd Life will start to fade away
• Robert Scoble: there will an increase in media spending due to the upcoming elections and it will cause a bloodbath in the industry
• Jim Goldman(MSNBC): Yahoo will get acquired
• Victoria Barrett: the industry will continue to consolidate and Yahoo and BEA are potential targets
• Rob Hof (Business Week): credit crunch will have a big impact
• Kara Swisher(All Things Digital): politicians will start talking about privacy on the web more and Facebook will continue to gain momentum (Kara's take on the event can be found here.)
While the panelists were not able to reach a consensus on what will be the hottest topic for 2008 during the panel I think it is safe to say it is going to be an exciting year here in Silicon Valley.
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