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                Predicting The Future Online |  
              | 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. :-)
 
 
 About the author:
 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...
 
 Simple "Traffic Machine" brings Thousands of NEW visitors to
 your website for weeks, even months... without spending a
 dime on advertising! ==> http://www.turnwordsintotraffic.com
 
 
 
 Circulated by Article Emporium
 
 
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