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Free Website Content - Reflections for 2008, Predictions
for 2009
Reflections for 2008, Predictions for 2009
By Sharon Housley
2008 was a year filled with great triumphs
and a year scarred by deep sorrow. What 2008 was not, was
a peaceful year, and whether the world is a better place,
for having endured is unclear.
Russia's invasion of Georgia has chilled Russia's
relations with the West, a resurgence of the Cold War may
be on the horizon. The Tibetan monk's protests being crushed
in the streets demonstrate that freedom of speech, is not
a God given right for all. The continued unrest in Middle
East is no longer news, but simply part of daily life in
the region.
Close calls with Hurricane Gustav in New Orleans
and the water lapping at the edge of overburdened levies
caused concern that the lessons of Katrina have still not
yet been fully learned. The heartbreaking destruction of
Hurricane Ike in Galveston and the Texas coast shows that
while the US has made progress, she is still no match for
mother nature. Nature's wrath still wields a heavy hand.
As horrific as the despair in Galveston, it paled in comparison
to the cyclone that hit Burma/Mynamar, taking the lives
of more than 100,000 people in the region. China, widely
thought to be a rising world power, was no match for the
8.0 earthquake that collapsed buildings like tinker toys.
Through leadership change, we often see policy
change. Unfortunately Fidel Castro's retirement in 2008
did nothing to free Cuba from the constrains of dictatorship
with Raul Castro stepping into the leadership role on the
tiny island.
Early on in 2008, the Hollywood writers strike
in 2008 showed that American can in fact live without television.
Regardless of the break from television, technology certainly
played a role in the 2008 elections.
The structure of the US political debates,
with YouTube questions taking stage early on, demonstrated
how technology shaped the 2008 US presidential election.
Obama utilizing technology to text his vice presidential
choice to his constituents was just the tip of the iceburg
when it came to technology's role in the 2008 US election.
The radical domestic terrorist, Bill Ayers and Jeremiah
Wright became household names. Joe the Plumber, Joe Six
Pack, and the average Joe were all invested in the 2008
US Presidential election.
The historic 2008 US presidential primaries
and election resulted in many firsts. Ultimately, Sarah
Palin, the first female Republican vice presidential candidate
and the GOP's rising star, went back to Alaska and the US
will crown its first African American President on inauguration
day in 2009.
At the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics, China
presented it's best. Michael Phelps made his mark on history,
breaking Mark Spitz record of swimming medals and Dara Torez
breaking a record of her own.
Tainted baby formula sickened tens of thousands
of babies in China in 2008. Even the US was not immune to
tainted food. A wide spread Salmonella outbreak caused a
number of illnesses in the States.
The senseless deaths of children like Caylee
Anthony and Precious Doe at the hands of those that were
suppose to love them the most demonstrate how hopeless some
things are in this age of technology.
The world in 2009 will sorely miss some legends
who passed on in 2008. Heath Ledger's senseless death and
the famed actor Paul Newman who had a lifetime of achievements
will be missed. The world also lost the comedic geniuses
of George Carlin and Bernie Mac as well.
The world's largest proton beam large hadron
collider high energy collector was effectively deployed,
while the world was not swallowed into a black hole. Unfortunately,
shortly after the test, the economic markets imploded. The
global economy crash devastated retirees who were heavily
invested in the markets, forgetting that the stock markets
can not only go up but down as well. A sad reality when
their savings dwindled and the reality of their investments
set in with the market down almost 40% for the year in November.
Based on this year's reflections, I have made
some predictions for 2009.
Top 10 Winners for 2009
1. Personal Responsibility
2. Financial Diversification
3. Mobile Malware
4. Weight Loss
5. Going Green
6. Social
7. Cloud Computing
8. Virtual Collaboration
9. Video
10. RSS
Top 10 Losers for 2009
1. Global Economy
2. Republicans and Conservatives
3. Hollywood
4. China
5. Somali Pirates
6. Financial Services Industry
7. Corrupted Politicians
8. Security or Securities
9. Outsourcing
10. Gasoline
Details of 2009 Predictions - http://www.small-business-software.net/what-is-hot-what-is-not-2009.htm
About the Author:
Sharon Housley manages marketing for FeedForAll http://www.feedforall.com
software for creating, editing, publishing RSS feeds and
podcasts. In addition Sharon manages marketing for RecordForAll
http://www.recordforall.com
audio recording and editing software.
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publications and websites, provided that the resource box
is included and the links are active. A courtesy copy of
the issue or a link to any online posting would be greatly
appreciated send an email to sharon@notepage.net
.
Additional articles available for publication available
at http://www.small-business-software.net/free-website-content.htm
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