Click to View

Trying to forget 2008 even happened?

You're not alone. Caught in the fallout from turmoil in the banking industry, the tech sector is reeling from dried-up credit, a timid investment community and a steep drop-off in enterprise and consumer spending.

But don't be too glad to see 2008 go. After all, it had its bright spots.

Yes, really. Social networking made great strides, clogging many an e-mail box with "friend" invitations and broadening its reach beyond the mainstays of Facebook, MySpace and LinkedIn. Apple's iPhone emerged as the hot device in 2008 while consumers turned to Web video in droves, paving the way for new businesses and new initiatives by existing players. Meanwhile, Google continued doing nothing to disprove the notion that "Resistance is Futile" when it comes to competing against it in online search.

It shouldn't be surprising, then, that we're beginning our annual, week-long look at what's next in technology with predictions that the big stories of 2008 will again be leading the way in 2009...

...although, not necessarily quite in the way that you might expect.

See here for the rest of this article at InternetNews.com.