• Consumers Who Watch TV Online More Engaged Than TV-Set Watchers, Simmons Finds - 12/24/2007
  CONSUMERS ARE 47% MORE ENGAGED in ads that run with television programs that they view online than those watched on a TV set, according to new research findings.
  (tags: research analysis consumers tv web internet online trends)
• Equinox Snow Tours - Guided Snowmobile Tours
  (tags: vermont vacation)
• Seth’s Blog: Frequency, Frequency, Frequency and the paradox of the Net
  I agree with Seth that there is no right/wrong
  (tags: frequency ads communication advertising marketing promotion strategy reach)
• Facebook is so last year - welcome to the hit websites of 2008 | Technology | The Guardian
  (tags: predictions forecasts 2008 research social trends)
• How to play China - MarketWatch
  China currently lags the U.S. by a substantial margin in the one column typically given the most weight on the economic scorecard: GDP per capita. In 2006, the U.S. produced GDP per head of $44,244; the corresponding Chinese statistic was a mere $2,055.
  (tags: china investing stocks)

Sherri posted a nice recap over on HermanWeb.

Two thousand and eight is shoring up to be a fantastic year both personally and within the context of business.  I’ve transitioned into my new role in corporate entrepreneurship and have already begun creating the foundations of a world class digital media team and in 2008, I will be able to execute on this vision.  It is going to take time to build out this vision but I’ve got an entire year to look forward to and an amazing supporting cast (which I’m always looking to add-to, please contact me).

Personally 2008 is my first full year being married and lots of trips are already planned.  We’ll be hitting the slopes of Vermont quite a bit and traveling towards the end of the summer.  The majority of our housework is finished and we’re really enjoying the Westchester lifestyle (however, I do miss the city sometimes).  A goal of mine is to spend a lot more time with friends, something that we’ve neglected in 2007 because of a tightly packed schedule.

I’ve been taking a macro view at my entire portfolio of investments and have begun devising a strategy for the future.  What we’ve been witnessing with the Internet in terms of “the world is flat” is having a major network effect into other industries, thus the world is fundamentally changing.  While cultures may be separate and geographically disparate, there is no reason why they can’t live next to each other digitally.  “Best in the World” does not apply any more:  everyone has a voice that becomes crowdsourced into a microsystem.

I’m not an economist, stock picking guru, or even significant angel investor, but there are areas that I’m taking a dive into more recently.  The areas may not be new, but the attention I’m giving them are greater than previously:

1.  Overseas:  Living in the USA, we tend to drink our own Kool Aid.  When traveling overseas, you realize what the rest of the world is up to and how much greater of a an impact an investment overseas could have.  So with that said, I’m exploring markets like Eastern Europe, China, and India and finding distressed areas that with a little investment, could create both social and economic winners.  I’m learning, albeit the hard way, that where there is hype, there is often smoke & mirrors.  There are billions of people that are under-served due to their relatively small buying power is something that is attractive to me due to the way that the world is becoming flat and I’m investing my time and funds into this area to try and figure it out.

2.  Digital Real Estate:  I’ve always been fascinated at the domain name game.  There is a relatively small group of folks who control this market and it’s sure to break out into mass appeal in the coming years.  How will it play out?  I have no idea.  If history is any indication however, property value raises over time and there are always going to be premier real estate locations to own.  The market creates it’s own stratospheres and if you pick the right one, you can do extremely well.  I’ve built up a portfolio of domain names that may or may not have some value (I sold a .org domain name for 4 figures back in 2001) and I’ll be looking to monetize them in one way or another.  Any domain name that I have purchased in the past or do intend to purchase has a vision to it.  I don’t like to purchase domain names for the sake or owning them, I like to purchase so that I can build them out in the future.  If you look at my porfolio (to be made public in 2008), you can predict or see what businesses I was looking at rolling out over time.  Like I said earlier, I don’t claim to know this space well, but I’ve been learning from a few pros and have met some great people so far and am digging deeper everyday.

3.  Ad Targeting:  You’d think I would be late to the game here but it’s honestly just starting to play out.  Digital ad targeting is going to be a hot area in 2008 as players like AOL, MSN, Google, Adify, Glam, ValueClick, Casale, Lotame, and others try to refine their network strategies and create highly targeted customer segments.  I am fortunate to meet with each of these companies quite often and am up to speed on their offerings, but I don’t think we’re 100% there yet on targeting.  The thesis I see playing out in 2008 is Vertical vs. Contextual vs. Behavioral vs. Social Targeting where each one of these areas aren’t mutually exclusive.  I’m predicting lots of roll-ups in this side of the business and it’s going to be extremely exciting to watch it all play out.

4.  Green:  We’ve been going green for years but I don’t think we’ve ever had the breakout year that we’ve expected.  2008 will NOT be that year, but it will be a year that I spend quite a bit of time learning the ins/outs of the industry.  Lots of issues will be brought to light due to the elections and if you act as a sponge throughout 2008, you can listen quietly to the issues and try and find (and back) the right people solving them.  I’m not trying to follow the many venture capitalists who are investing in this space, but for my own tree-hugging self (who also owns a Jeep), I’m socially interested.

5.  New York:  We’re starting to get on the USA digital media radar screen.  AlleyInsider and Center Networks are helping lead the charge and entrepreneurs from Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens (amongst many other places) are cooking up their own flavor of the web.  nextNY and NY Tech Meetup are in full swing and the comraderie is increasing.   With the financial world’s bonus’s delivered in January 2008, there is going to be quite a bit of angel investments into the scene which will potentially drive venture capital into larger rounds.  I’m excited to be located in New York during these times and we’re seeing some amazing companies launch.  Word of caution:  I’m seeing a lot of companies launching in NYC and many are features, not a company.  Please keep in mind that just because you have the financial means to launch a company, doesn’t mean you should.  Build out a sustainable business that could survive on its own, not just a simple feature that any social network, communications company, or software company could add onto it’s feature list.

6.  Features, Not a Company:  As we get even more bullish in 2008, we’re going to see even more companies launch because more dollars are being put to work from an investment standpoint.  As I alluded to in #5, we’re going to see quite a bit of “companies” launch who are essentially features.  This generally is a negative thing as most of the companies burn through their capital and die, but I do think there is a way to launch standalone features as part of a portfolio strategy and this is an area that I’m going to be spending some time looking at.

7.  Creativity:  It seems that each newborn child these days knows how to develop using the latest tools, but many of us forget how to be creative.  Linear thinkers will always be needed and in some ways, may become a commodity (if not already), but the real winners of 2008 are the creatives.  I’m not saying this because I work hand-in-hand with creative agencies, but as technology becomes a commodity, how do we differentiate ourselves and design better interfaces, business plans, etc.  It’s all about the creativity.  How can we harness this for the future?  I don’t know, but I’m certainly trying to figure it out.

These are just a few of the areas that I’m looking at in 2008.  Any overlaps with what you are looking at?

I have been keeping an uber trends list for 2008 and thought I’d highlight the Economist as well, as, a few other forecasts.  In today’s edition of the Economist, they make three fearless predictions:

1. Surfing will slow
2. Surfing will detach
3. Surfing - and everything else computer related - will open

Looks like they spent a lot of time analyzing Internet behavior but certainly displeased Marc Andreesson.  In a nutshell, what they mean by #1 is that because of all of the increased traffic and bandwidth intensive behavior (trading movies, uploading CGC, etc), web surfing is going to be increasingly slower over time.  It’ll get fixed, but we’ve got a long road ahead of us before it gets much faster.

In #2, the Economist predicts that web surfers will utilize the  700mhz frequency that Google is bidding on.  If this happens, then DSL and Cable Internet may go the way of the dinosaur.  Hence the release of Android.

In #3, everything becomes open - or in most cases, free.

I agree with Marc Andreesson in most of his statements including his reaction to #2:

 OK. There is no way that the winner of the upcoming 700-megahertz — Google or anyone else — will be able to have the network itself up and operational in 2008. So this prediction has no relevance for 2008.

In other news, GigaOm released a Tech Trends 2008 show.  Check it out here.

• Latest Luxury: The Store Concierge - WSJ.com
  In the race to attract customers, luxury emporiums are doing what the best hotels have done for decades — installing concierges.
  (tags: marketing touchpoints research concierge retail)

• Eight Fat Swine - Knol Will Be Huge
  A great analysis by Mr. Pearlman. Good job.
  (tags: pearlman knol google socialmedia internet wikipedia)
• mypictr - we make your profile picture
  A tool, not a company. Smart resource though.
  (tags: social networks internet content pictures media community apps)
• JibJab Sendables | “In 2007″ - A Non-Crappy Holiday eCard
  A fantastic card - good job Jibab. Rundown of 2007
  (tags: holiday card humor)

• How Social Media Kept My Lunch Date
  Twitter was actually useful
  (tags: twitter social media internet fredwilson email darrenherman)
• More Teens Create, Share Online Material as ‘Multichannel Teen’ Emerges - Marketing Charts
  Nearly two-thirds (63%) of teens now have a cell phone; for teens who have them, they are the premier communication method for talking with friends. Among teens with cell phones, 55% say they use them to talk with friends every day.
  (tags: teens research trends mobile phones consumer CGM content)
• MTVN Ad Group’s Nada Stirratt, Jason Witt: Pushing Ad And Screen Agnosticism
  It’s about time. Go where the consumers are; not make them come to you
  (tags: video internet content mtvn)

I was supposed to head to 15 East for lunch today with a friend/colleague from a strategic venture fund.  We prearranged to meet around 12:30; but around 11:30am, I noticed my Twitter account freaking out when Fred Wilson posted that Union Square was closed off.

Since 15 East was right next to Union Square, I quickly emailed my friend and we arranged to meet down at Blue Ribbon Sushi in the West Village.  Had Fred not alerted Twitter, I would have never found out, and both my friend and myself probably would have been extremely late to the lunch since we were coming from two seperate areas of the city.  Twitter was finally useful.

• SEM Agencies Step Up Offerings - 12/17/2007
  My friend David Honig speaks up
  (tags: search marketing advertising SEM summit)

I feel like I was just invited to a party by a few trusted colleagues but I don’t know what house I’m at and why I’m there.

Does anyone know a bit more about Spock? It says they are in beta and have taken some funding, but other than that, I’m not sure why I’m using it. Here is my official Spock profile, but I’m not even sure why I need it.

I was talking with my friend Lee earlier and he’s also in the dark as to the point of Spock.

Anyone want to explain? This isn’t a bad thing: this intrigues me.

Spock - if you’re out there, please reach out here and lets talk about what you guys are doing.