As we come to the end of another year (and come to grips with how fast the last one went by), it is that time of year where talking heads and bloggers come out of the woodwork with their 2009 predictions. But, guess what?

They’re all going to be wrong. We simply don’t know, ok?

So, what I’m going to do is, BRIEFLY, throw out my own thoughts on what we MIGHT see in 2009. Then, I want to open it up to you – the reader. I want you to give YOUR predictions of what will happen in 2009 when it comes to computers, the Internet and the general world of tech. Then, we can all come back to this post toward the end of 2009 and see who was closest to being right.

Sound good? OK, I’ll go first…

Dave’s Predictions

The major factor affecting technology in 2009 is going to be the economy. We’re going to see increased attention paid to VALUE. We’re probably going to see more people hanging onto their computers a little longer and putting the effort into making it work better. But, people will still be buying things. Geeks have needs and they will plunk down their wallet if something fills that need. The major gadget and computer vendors are going to buckle down and focus on value.

When it comes to the Internet, I think we might see a few online services shut down as realities of cash flow hit home. We might not see new social media site launches every week as we saw in 2008. I think the world of social media is going to be more important than ever, but we may see some centralization as some of the small-time players fall away.

The Internet, though, is likely going to be more important than ever to people’s lives. I think we’re going to see a lot of people who lost their jobs due to the economy start to look to the Internet as a source of saving money, social connections, as well as a means to start a new business and generate some money online. I think we’re going to see a lot of creativity and ingenuity because we’re going to have a lot of smart people with little better to do. I think we may see a lot of people start new blogs. I even talked over on David Risley dot com about how we might see a lot of former reporters lose their job and become bloggers.

A few other predictions for you:

1. The world of technology, especially Internet business, will either weather the economic downturn relatively unscathed or will be the first to recover. People who step up their game and get onboard have little to worry about.
2. We’re going to see increased sales of cheap, small netbook PCs. The emphasis is moving away from pure computing power to the Internet as the main medium. Netbooks are perfect for that – and inexpensive.
3. Windows 7 will be released and bring Microsoft back from the OS dead. PC sales will increase because Windows 7 will be what Vista should have been.
4. The Iphone isn’t a fad – its a trend. Expect to see more and more people switch to smartphones. It might not be the Iphone, but it’ll be “smart”. Everything is going smaller and more mobile.
5. Speaking of smartphones, expect fierce competition in this market. Apple will continue to perfect the Iphone, but phones like the Android powered T1 are going to grow quickly as the anti-Apple phone, an OS with which you can do whatever you want. In fact, I think you might see GPS-powered phones overtake portable GPSs for the car. Garmin, you better come out with a phone soon.
6. Even though PC sales will increase due to Windows 7, Apple will continue to take market share. Apple has superior marketing skills and – I’ll say it – their OS is just plain better [sorry!].
7. There will be a lot more emphasis on the structure of the Internet. There will be more talk about bandwidth demands, and we may see some major security attack (possibly terrorist related) that puts into question the security protocols used. On that same note, we are probably going to see increased government interest in managing the Internet and, in turn, a huge debate and social issue arising over governmental role in the world of technology.

OK, Your Turn!

You’re turn to be the pundit. What are YOUR predictions in tech for 2009? Post a comment below.