I want to apologize for not posting in the past couple of weeks. It seems that my life as a retail superstar has interfered with my ability to act as any type of academic, let alone a public academic. So, I might as well attempt to write something before the end of the year. As my relatives are enjoying another college bowl game or a game of cards, I guess this would be as good a time as any to try to put together some thoughts on the year that was and what I see happening next year.

1. Microblogging will continue to 
evolve: One of the biggest stories of the past month has been the 
Denver plane crash and how one of the passengers Twittered during 
the crash. This lead to a series of headlines punning of either 
Twitter or crashes. I don't believe Twitter will survive at the end 
of 2009 unless the Twitter crew can find some way to monetize the 
system. However, thanks to systems like the Laconica microblogging 
software and the Bootcamp initiative, there will be communities of 
microblogs connected by a superstructure of the universal profile 
supported by OpenID.
2. Cybereducation and cyberliteracy 
will begin to connect the levels of the American education system: 
With Margaret Spellings leaving and Arne Duncan becoming the 
Secretary of Education, I got to believe that there will be a long, 
hard look at (and possible elimination of) No Child Left Behind. I 
also believe that Duncan represents a future in cybereducation 
either in the form of more distance higher education to areas 
under-served by the current higher education/digital divide issues 
or through a reorganization of the primary/secondary/post-secondary 
education system in the United States.
3. There will continue to be 
questions in the binary levels of the Internet: Many of the 
academics that I listen to talk about binary issues, which are the 
differences between private life/public identity, online/offline, 
high-tech/lo-tech, public service/private utility and 
connected/unconnected. I realize as more of the issues emerge in the 
world of the Internet, there will continue to be a struggle to 
define our existence in this arena and what will be the methods used 
to help deal with the changes caused by the development in this 
environment.
4. This year was defined by the 
ability to connect with others, being able to clearly deliver a 
coherent thought and trying to persuade others with your message: I 
wish I could add more to this point. I'll simply say that there have 
been a great deal of worldwide mediated platform that people could 
connect and express themselves in front of a worldwide audience. The 
channels of communication were use to clarify points that were left 
out for the media's presentation of events (U.S. Presendental 
Election, Prop 8 Protests, Olympics, et al.)

Well, this should be the last post for 
this year. I wish you and yours a happy rest of the year. I gotta 
stop now, it's my turn to play cards.