- by Jim Edwards

(c) Jim Edwards - All Rights reserved
    http://www.thenetreporter.com
=====================================

The psychic Hotline won’t help you in this article!

However, I want to share my predictions for 2003 and the trends I
see affecting how you will use the Internet for both business and
pleasure. 

** Anti-Spam!

Anybody with an email account for more than three days has gotten
unsolicited email (referred to as Spam) from people they don’t know.
These people offer to sell them everything from acne treatment to
inkjet cartridges. 

As federal and state lawmakers weigh into the battle against Spam,
you can expect two significant developments this year:

First, anti-Spam software sales will skyrocket among home and
business users.  Unfortunately, unless somebody invents a solution
that actually works well, the end results won’t fit the promises
made to sell the products. 

On a side note: It will prove very interesting to see how many of
the anti-Spam product vendors will actually use Spam to sell their
wares!

Second, anti-Spam sentiment will massively affect legitimate online
business owners trying to communicate with their customers via e-
mail. 

New services will spring up to help even the smallest businesses
secure their communications with customers and avoid the "Spam
filters."

** Lights, Camera, Action!

The use of multimedia, including video, pictures, and sound, along
with other interactive devices, will really take off this year. 

However, the proliferation of multimedia will not occur because of
higher Internet access speeds through DSL or cable.

Cheaper and better computers, combined with improved "streaming"
software technology, will drive this multimedia trend. As computers
and web servers on either end of the information exchange get faster
at encoding and decoding data, the need for broadband access
lessens.

** Sold to the Highest Bidder

Expect auction sites to see all-time highs in sales and revenues
this year.  With a sluggish economy, people look to save and make
money any way they can, and buying through eBay makes it easier than
ever. 

** Do you Yahoo?

Search giant Yahoo will rebound this year from a couple of poor
business decisions.  Expect them to regain the top spot as the
world’s number one search portal by the end of 2003. 

** "Micro-Businesses" Will Dominate

Using "guerrilla marketing" tactics, small businesses will spread
like wildfire online.  These businesses won’t bother with startup
capital, or IPO’s; they’ll simply reach profitability within 30 days
or close up shop. 

Also, expect to see "Big" business start adapting these techniques
by creating special units within larger corporations that reward the
entrepreneurial online spirit.

So take the challenge!

Cut out this article, put it on your bulletin board, and 12 months
from now we can all see if my psychic abilities rate with the most
popular 900 numbers or whether flipping a coin would have achieved
the same or better results.

—-

Jim Edwards is a syndicated newspaper columnist and the co-author of
an amazing new ebook that will teach you how to use free articles to
quickly drive thousands of targeted visitors to your website or
affiliate links…

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