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Top 10 Predictions for 2007

by Steve Fox on January 2, 2007 - 6:00am.

You, you, you.

All this consternation about TIME magazine’s pick of “You” as the person of the year! As my colleague John McQuaid pointed out, there are still plenty of non-believers out there having problems grasping the concepts and potential behind this new fangled Internet thing.

Well, folks, you better get on board, and quickly. In the spirit of New Year’s predictions, I’m going to go far out on a limb and declare 2007 as the true year of “You.” Better yet, it’s when “You” graduates from toddler status. So, given that it’s the time of year for predictions, I provide you with my own informal Top 10 list of predictions — some serious, some not so much.

1. There will be at least two dozen Web sites devoted to the upcoming presidential election by the end of the year. It’s happening already, but the 2008 election cycle is shaping up to resemble the 2000 run-up, when dozens of Web sites cropped up to cover the campaign and election. The question this time around, will any of those sites have the legs to survive after Election Day?

2. One of those new Web sites — The Politico — will struggle and by year’s end, some of the talent in place now will have left. I’m hedging my bets here a bit because I’m willing to give John Harris and Jim VandeHei, former colleagues at The Washington Post, the benefit of the doubt. Still, I’m not convinced that they understand the concept behind multimedia presentation. It’s more than having your writers talk at the cameras and appear on televised news programs. How long will it take them to get that?

3. Speaking of The Post, after more than a decade of separation, the news operation there will follow the lead of the New York Times and USA Today and converge their print and Web operations by year’s end. The two operations are already headed in that direction. (Full disclosure: I worked at washingtonpost.com for 10 years.)

4. My parents will finally break down and get TiVo.

5. YouTube will continue to make news and drive news cycles. At least one (more) presidential candidate will be forced to drop out of the running because of a faux pas caught on video. Also expect more video from Iraq – with images from the ground adding fuel to the ongoing debate over the war in the U.S.

6. Journalism programs across the country will swamp the job market in search of professionals to teach this new-fangled convergence concept. Some programs are ahead of the curve, some catching up, but most now realize that the industry is changing and educators need to change their approach away from solely teaching the concepts behind the inverted pyramid.

7. My 8-year-old son will have his own blog by year’s end.

8. The left vs. right war within the blogosphere will again heat up (did it ever cool down?) as the presidential campaign cycle kicks into gear. Bloggers will find themselves in a crisis, however, as to whether to be shills for a particular candidate or continue to maintain their independence.

9. Bruce Springsteen will go back on tour.

10. And, finally, NewAssignment.Net will be a resounding success. Ok, I couldn’t pass this one up. But, based on the experiences of other groups and organizations, the philosophy behind meshing the best of professional journalists, the crowd and the blogosphere seems to be unveiling at just the right time.

Well, we’ll see. In the meantime, have a Happy New Year – it’s going to be a wild one.


Springsteen on Tour 2007

look for Springsteen to be playing dates in North America and Canada by April 2007, http://www.foryoubruce.com