The mobile Web goes mainstream
Fifty-six percent of adult Americans access the Internet by wireless means and two-thirds own a video-enabled mobile device. Those are signs of major growth – but mobile is set to grow even more in 2010. Take m-commerce. It’s set to pass the $1 billion mark this year. And by 2013, it is predicted that more than 600 million people worldwide will access social networks via mobile devices. Who needs a laptop, or a wallet, when you’ve got a smartphone?

You’ll utter the phrase “Web 3.0.”
Techie folks started talking about Web 3.0 this year, which, just like Web 2.0, is comprised of a number of concepts, such as the real-time Web, the Semantic Web, and the Internet of Things. While Web 3.0 can be complex and hard to grasp, it does have marketing implications. Expect to see the advertising and marketing world try to get its collective head around this new era of the Web (just know that it will be a good three to four years before they start to figure it out).

Augmented reality will become the “it” app of the year
Twitter is so 2009. But augmented reality will be so 2010. If you’re not familiar with it, augmented reality puts a layer of information over a real-world item, essentially merging real and virtual worlds. For example, if you hold your iPhone up to a restaurant in front of you, you can view reviews of that restaurant through your iPhone screen. Augmented reality also allows you to hold a printed image up to a webcam to see a 3-D image arise. Expect to see more AR apps this year, as anyone who’s anyone gets in on this trend.

Google takes over voice
For the last few years, the iPhone reigned supreme as the king of the smartphones. But Google’s mobile operating system, Android, is gaining ground. By the beginning of this year, 19 smartphones will run on Android, which unlike the iPhone, is an open-source platform. Google is also rumored to be releasing its own smart phone, the Nexus One (supposedly with a magnetic compass and FM speaker), as well as near-real-time translation for mobile devices in 2010.

Publishers will try paid-content models, again
In 2009, 367 U.S. periodicals shut down and 64 went online-only. So it’s no surprise that publications are once again looking at paid-content models to survive. We saw numerous paid-content models about 10 years ago. Some, such as The Wall Street Journal, have been successful, but many others failed. And some publications, such as The New York Times, have gone back and forth on charging for content. We’re hearing lots about paid content again these last few months, but unless the offerings are niche, offer stellar user experiences, or center on mobile, chances are, they won’t be viable business models.