A huge shift in open source platform development will move to the fore in 2008 with focus being put on Google's mobile platform, Android. Previously one would have to fork out thousands of Rands to upgrade the media or office suites on their computers, but in 2008, as OpenOffice.org's (http://www.openoffice.org/) free office suite gains momentum, the uptake of open source software will gain more users, as it is just as slick and powerful as just about anything available at computer stores today. In addition, free programs available from the likes of Mozilla and Google will become a norm in SA as one can now choose from a catalogue of programs that will do anything your average computer user needs.
There will be more focus to bring much needed competition to the floor to compete with the ever popular Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/), an online social networking site. MySpace (http://www.myspace.com/) has already launched a global campaign to enhance their hold on the blogging and social networking markets. In 2008, this will extend to outsourcing more application development by young, up-and-coming web developers. A huge focal point in Facebook's development last year saw the emergence of its Facebook Pages offering which is targeted towards growing the corporate scaling of the site for business use. In 2008, South African businesses will realise the potential for better online marketing campaigns and make use of the open playing ground of over 522 000 South Africans on Facebook. Localised, specialised social networks will also receive more attention this year.
Blogging will also earn more kudos this year and the medium will be taken more seriously, as has already been seen by invitations that were extended to bloggers to cover the ANC presidential imbizo and the official media launch of Toyota's new Auris hatchback range of cars. News producers are beginning to see the value in user-generated content and an increase in this type of content will allow for more diversified stories making their way onto mainstream media more often. That said, as blogging enjoys more limelight bloggers may be tempted to be more cocky in their approach, which could lead to a nasty run in with the law. We shall see.
Mobile social networking and mobile VOIP services have seen a range of mobile applications and mobile sites such as, Twitter (http://twitter.com/), Yeigo (http://www.yeigo.com) and Fring (http://www.fring.com/) take centre stage and their growth will continue at a steadier pace in SA this year due to the country's growth in the mobile market. A cellphone user will make use of cheaper data costs and allow users to connect with their world and enhance their lifestyle at a faster rate than desktops or laptops allow. This is due to the fact that there are more mobile handsets in circulation in South Africa than there are PCs.
Ratings for consumer-generated content on community aggregation and social bookmarking sites, like Muti (http://muti.co.za/) and Laaik.it (http://laaikit.24.com) will become more refined as users start becoming more empowered to qualitatively rank content, and by doing so, quality content will move it ways to the top of Google's results too.
South African artists and musicians will begin to utilise social media marketing more extensively to promote the sales of their albums and to garner deeper support within their fan base. Artists who make use of digital media and technology to sell their albums also influence the sales of digital music online, which could increase as mobile operators and telecoms reduce the costs of music downloads on the Internet. Musicians like Verity (http://www.iamverity.com/) and J (https://www.bizcommunity.com/Article/196/23/12598.html) have used the Net and USB technology to sell their albums, and by so doing, they have made their music more accessible to more people.
The new year brings a lot of hope for change in current bandwidth conditions as the age of the Internet grows into its next phase. Telkom will propose its new IPTV project this year, but current broadband constraints will not allow for the kind of superuser access that will be needed for such technologies to flourish. It goes without saying that however many great inventions or key developments are on the increase in 2008, the single most defining setback for South Africans will be access to good quality broadband. We hope to see improvements in the telecoms sector after the Annual National Budget speech is released in February 2008.
