I posted my 7 web predictions for 2008 to my thoughtleader.co.za blog just before new year, and subsequently a couple of local bloggers have also posted their thoughts.
Tyler Reed posted his SA startup predictions for 2008, and I thought he got it pretty spot on, especially about Zoopy and Yeigo. Zoopy have really added some cool features and are my favourite SA startup at the moment. Their association with Nokia can only be good for their business - the move towards indexing and storing mobile content is sure to pay dividends later this year. I have also just started using Yeigo - their windows mobile 6 app is way ahead of other mobile voip players in terms of ui and functionality. I reckon that they could be one of the success stories of the year too.
Of course Tyler himself has been working on and releasing some pretty interesting things, even though he is too modest to include them in his post. Its going to be interesting to see what else he builds this year.
Vincent Maher made a post entitled some not-so-positive social media predictions for SA in 2008, including a prediction that I would do something unexpected and very successful this year. His faith in me is flattering, and I am going to work damn hard to prove him right. Yes, I have a stealth startup on the go - expect an announcement later this month :).
I think his other predictions are pretty accurate too. A lot of them are about the maturing of the SA blogosphere - this is a good thing.
Matthew Buckland wrote that Vinny Lingham was the man to watch in 2008. I ended up debating Synthasite's revenue model with another commenter on the post, and I do feel that Synthasite could really do well if they can use that $5 million worth of funding to build a decent user base.
There have also been a number of other excellent (and sometimes funny) posts on Thoughtleader with a whole of non-web related predictions for 2008 that are well worth a read.
Internationally, ReadWriteWeb led the field with their 2008 predictions post. Also worth a read: 12 predictions for Enterprise Web 2.0 in 2008 (via Mike Stopforth), Mashable’s 2008 Predictions: Sean’s List and , just for fun, Valleywag's 25 predictions for 2008.
As I said in my thoughtleader post, I feel incredibly positive about the internet going into 2008, and I hope I feel the same way when I make my 2009 predictions at the end of this year.