Before:

Today I’m very honoured to have a guest posting from Catherine Parker, a South African SEO expert with a tech company in San Francisco

Catching My Breath in San Francisco
It’s been a frenetic and exhausting last month or so in the Bay Area. I work for a website that reviews tech products, and the biggest days of the year in my company are over the Thanksgiving weekend in late November. During “Black Friday” and “Cyber Monday” of that weekend, Americans go mad with spending, both on and offline. Since the U.S. economy has taken a dive, reviews sites like ours are crucial in the sales cycle, as customers are being more careful than ever about where they spend their dollars on luxury goods.
The Thanksgiving rush is closely followed by the Christmas season, which these days is as big a deal for online retailers as it is for bricks and mortar sellers. More and more, people are abandoning the queues and stress of mall shopping and doing most, if not all, of their shopping online (me included!). It makes so much sense here – shipping costs are negligible, and you get your delivery within a couple of days, which means it’s a no mess, no fuss operation.
Most recently, the first part of January was taken up with two major tech conferences: Macworld in San Francisco, and the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. This year’s Macworld was fairly subdued due to the news of Apple pulling out next year and concerns over Steve Jobs’ health, and CES was also quiet due to fewer than usual exhibitors as a result of the reeling economy. Nevertheless, there were plenty of new tech launches during the show, specifically in the mobile space where companies like Research in Motion (producers of the Blackberry) and Palm are racing to steal market share from the iPhone.
After all that activity, it’s no wonder we’re all feeling a bit frazzled. Monday is a public holiday here, which is a very rare thing in these parts, so I’ll finally be taking a break. See you on the other side!

By now, you’ve probably read some of these:
• The 8 important consumer trends for 2008 by Trendwatching.com
• The 8 future trends for 2008 by Fortune Magazine and then today;
• 3 predictions for 2008 on BizCommunity.
So, I asked myself, should I also fall into this trap and give my predictions for online specifically for 2008.
Do you need another person to tell you that we should get close to 1million broad band subscribers by the end of 2008 or that social networking will be around for a while and that mobile is (still) the next big thing?
Do you need to hear again that online spending will increase in leaps and bounds and that the Google Phone will revolutionise mobile search, that the iPod / iPhone will become bigger than it is and that your brand is in the hands of your consumers?
Well, in case you did need to hear / read it again, there you are.In terms of what my small mind can digest and absorb while trying to separate the dreaming from reality, this is what I see happening in the online space in 2008 ( in SA):
1. The big ad agencies getting serious about online to the extent that they will start buying up smaller design/development and online media agencies, in addition to boosting their existing digital resources.
2. A return to the integrated approach to advertising / marketing campaigns, ensuring that online / digital / mobile is not just an afterthought but part of a total ( so-called 360) approach to all campaigns.
3. A move towards free / open source software for web sites, mobile platforms, email marketing, etc, forcing online agencies to offer their clients concepts, strategies, insights and analytical reports rather than just software solutions.

So, there’s 3 of mine, will you share some of yours?
I reserve the right of course to add more to my list, even deleting some should I change my mind……

Yes, I want it! I’ve read the reviews, watched the video clips and made up my mind.
The reviews by Wall Street Journal, USA Today and New York Times are all very positive. Who I am to disagree with them then.
So, off to ZAStore, Apple’s retailer. I promptly dialed there hotline number on 0860 027753 to buy mine, or at least order it.
If Steve Jobs wants to sell his 10 million phones by the end of next year, then surely he wants my business too.
Yip, the call centre operator told me, you can have it by end December 2007 at a cost of R 6500 - R 7500 as they cannot provide the precise cost right now.
Anyone planning to buy one this week?
Lemme know where please!