6 Unexpected Internet Trends for 2012

As we say “good riddance” to 2011, we must, as tradition dictates, look ahead to 2012. You may be saying, “Predictions tend to be way too predictable, too more of the same.” Some of the predictions for 2012 are as such: The Cloud will grow even larger in 2012, Facebook will get even more ad revenue and Amazon will devour the rest of the civilized world.

So, what else is new? Well, here are six things from all of the countless stories predicting what will happen in 2012 that could be of relevance to the investor, and they’re certainly not more of the same.

New New Media on Steroids

Mark Anderson, editor of the Strategic News Service, argues persuasively in a Forbes guest column that people are now ready to pay for a broader range of online content. He foresees a bonanza of media and technology opportunities as a result. “Get ready for new devices, new content, new bundles, new connection techniques, new distribution channels, new aggregators, new pads, new phones, new players, new self-published authors, new garage bands, and new consumption models riding on social networks. There is nothing but high energy in the content consumer market. People are now ready to spend subscription money for this sector and the publisher response will be huge,” Anderson predicts. Whew!

The Death of Junk Mail

In IBMs annual list of predictions, of the top five technologies that will become commonplace within five years, says junk mail will die but not of a lingering illness. In fact, the company says, junk mail will become so personalized, so relevant to the individual recipient, that it will no longer be considered spam.

IBM also predicts that you will be able to use your mind to control devices (i.e.: wearing a device that reads your brain activity).

The New York Times points out that IBM is actually conducting research on many of the future developments it mentions, so there’s an element of advance advertising in its predictions. Hey, if the company can pull these things off, it deserves the free publicity.

The Social Shakeout

Gartner Group, in its annual list of predictions, forecasts that the investment bubble in consumer social networks will pop  in 2013 and the bubble in enterprise social software companies will pop in 2014. It’s a gutsy call, but it might be wise not to count on their timing being all that accurate.

Apple Will Reinvent TV, But Not Soon

Apple has been reinventing bits and pieces of TV for years: It’s got a mini-TV device, and a set-top box and, of course ,various devices that display TV programming, among other uses. But it’s still working on the big picture, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The report says that Apple is working on its own television model, one that would use wireless streaming technology to access movies and other content. It would be controlled using an iPhone or iPad. The story appears to be based on sources from the entertainment industry that have had talks with Apple. The Journal stressed that the talks were highly preliminary, and even “vague,” and included no discussions about licensing or other issues.

Fashions by Google

Google and Apple are secretly working on “wearable computers,” according to the New York Times.

So, big deal, it’s called a watch. Some of the ideas are just that, like a curvy iPhone that slips around your wrist, but others seem to have potential to free up attention span, like the miniscule computer peripherals that would communicate information to your phone.

It’s good reading, anyway, for a peek inside the super-secret Google X laboratory.

Twitter Gets Billionaire’s Bucks

After months of negotiations, Saudi billionaire, Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, has announced that his Kingdom Holding Co. will invest $300 million in Twitter. That is estimated to give him a 3% share of the company.

He also is the second largest investor in Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp.

The news immediately gave rise to questions about whether the Saudi prince, who is a nephew of the king, might try to use his influence to censor or otherwise influence Twitter policy, particularly if the “Arab Spring” movement spreads to Saudi Arabia. The prince is apparently is more interested in growth company investing than in politics, though. In any case, as GigaOm.com points out, the Saudi government could pull the plug on the entire Internet anytime it wants.

“Six Unexpected Internet Trends for 2012” was provided by Minyanville.com.