As Google celebrated 20 years of TCP/IP protocol as the building block of the Internet, it harked back to the humble beginnings of the global network in striking contrast to its culmination today in the World Wide Web. Today, the world has truly changed irrevocably with the Internet becoming what some are calling an extension of the human mind.

The new global knowledge economy is a groundbreaking development, and Internet Marketing is an extremely effervescent arena. New developments are taking place at a breathtaking pace, while new opportunities abound at every corner. The year 2007 saw record growth in UK e-commerce, with a rapidly increasing number of people preferring to enter into online transactions. The social media and online news industry also experienced profound growth with people often preferring candid blogs to corporate news sources.

Mainstream media recently saw its market share decline dramatically, with media stock values falling dramatically. It is plain to see that this new era bodes well for creativity and talent. The Internet has pretty much levelled the playing field, putting the individual at par with rich media conglomerates with creativity as his only business tool.

So what does this mean for Internet Marketing in 2008?

1. Individuality will win the day – Unique creativity that imparts true value, commanding a following that will result in riches for those who can read global sentiment.

2. Unique services – while traditional websites such as forums, blogs and social bookmarking will continue to draw visitors, look for new business models and unprecedented services that leverage the unique collaborative nature of the Internet. Hint: think Last.fm

3. The SEO-less business models – Paradoxically, online business models based purely on brand recognition without factoring search engine optimisation will make it big. While online merchants will be hard pressed to implement this ultra brand recognition without SEO, community based websites like Digg that have accentuated individuality will cash in on a massive user following.

4. The SEO business models – Search Engine Optimisation will see cuthroat competition with merchants seeking to take an ever increasing share of that lucrative online customer pie. Merchants now realize that online selling is as important as offline sales. Websites now serve as alternatives to shops, opening up a new kind of business premises where popularity is defined not by location but by reputation.

5. Virtual Real Estate – Domain names have now become real estate in their own right. While keyword rich domains mean incredible value, domains that have real websites on them and are known through sheer public popularity are becoming the new high street. Forget Manhattan and Oxford Street: ebay and Digg is where the action really is.

Get Involved