It came, it saw, it conquered and now it is a distant memory – Happy New Year to All! Over the year we’ve said Hello to a lot of new friends as our daily lives had become consumed with Facebook, unfortunately we also said Good Bye to some as they just could not make it over the hump. There were a few big moments that stand in my mind as I pause and look at 2008:
- Obama for President of the Internet – he used just about every possible online (and offline) channel to share his message to the world, raises millions and influenced generations to come all on the road to becoming the fist black President in US history.
- We all became Twits – Twitter changed the game of news as stories first broke via Twitter. It is how I first found out that ThinData was acquired by Trans Continental, the attacks in Mumbi and many other stories were shared via the start up service.
- Birth of the Mobile Web – Apple launched its iPhone, Google released the G1, and many versions of the Blackberry kept consumers surfing, snapping photos and capturing video. Consumers rush to be “always connected” and the mobile phone becomes the must have accessory to millions.
- Yah-Ogle; Yah-Soft oh my head is still spinning. After months of headlines, rumours and rumblings, stock prices dropping and Co-Founder Jerry Yang stepping down Yahoo walks away still an independent company.
- Video goes Vrrroom Vrrroom – whether you like the term “user generated content” or not, the world could not get enough of creating sharing of online video. The end of the year also saw major in roads as platforms such as YouTube and Facebook now allow for high-definition (HD) quality videos. Some networks called it quits, and the gap between content creation and video advertising still remains the mystery as creators expect to command the old-school TV rates.
