The year is already 1/12 over!  How did that happen?   I’m a little late to the game with my tech predictions for this year but I figured better late than never.   Last year I batted around a .400.  Let see if this year is any better.  Here are my predictions for the coming year:

Photo: Matt Dunham/AP

There will be a large-scale botnet attack

Hackers have recently been mounting large-scale attacks on major corporations by using botnets.  Here’s how it works:   A botnet is a network of computers that are infected by a virus.  Hackers use this virus to take control of all the infected computers’ computing power and attack a specific target.

Hacktivist groups like Anonymous have recently made headlines by using botnets to attack organizations that criticized and withdrew support of Wikileaks.  Just a few days ago they were in the news again, threatening Egypt’s government for blocking internet access to protestors.  With more and more computers becoming infected, the botnets are growing exponentially in computing power.  I think we’ll see some major attacks this year, possibly to financial or government organizations.

Twitter will release a do-it-yourself ad service

This past year we finally saw an effort by Twitter to make some revenue.  Analysts say that their ad services may make as much as $250 million revenue by 2012.  Their challenge is going to be proving that these promoted tweets are actually effective, since Facebook offers the same service with a bigger user base.  Twitter has enough of a niche market that if they introduce something similar to Facebook and Google’s do it yourself ad services, they could start to be competitive.

Myspace will be bought, possibly by a recording company

Myspace is hurting badly.  It recently laid off about 50% of its workforce and continues to struggle to find a niche in the Facebook-dominated social space.  One thing that Myspace seems to have over Facebook is a good interface for sharing music.  Myspace continues to be a site for musicians looking to share their music and they still have recognition.  With some rebranding and significant downsizing, they must be useful to someone!

From tonymadrid on Flickr

iPhone on Verizon will crush Android sales

The iPhone is coming to Verizon in February and analysts predict anywhere from 12 to 25 million will sell in 2011.  That does not bode well for Android, which was able to compete with the iPhone in market share partially because of AT&T’s exclusivity deal with Apple. However, HTC and Motorola have some pretty nifty new Android phones coming out mid-year that will definitely be competitive, so we’ll have to wait and see!

Android Honeycomb will be beautiful, but iPad 2 will come out in the summer and dominate tablet sales

CES 2011 was a blizzard of tablets.  It seemed almost every single maker had their own tablet to announce.  Google will be showing off its new tablet operating system, Android Honeycomb, at a press event on February 2^nd.

This is the operating system that many of the tablets at CES will be running and I can’t wait to see what it looks like.  We haven’t heard anything about iPad 2 yet, but the first generation has been out for so long with little to no competition that even with all the shiny new Android tablets hitting the market soon, I think iPad sales will continue to dominate in 2011.

Net neutrality will make front page headlines

Net neutrality is the principle that internet service providers should put no restrictions on the type of content we receive and the methods in which we receive it.  Proponents for net neutrality argue that telecom companies are trying to enact a tiered model where the consumer would have to pay a different amount to access different data.

This model is ultimately harmful to the consumer because telecom companies would be able to remove competition to their services by controlling the flow of content and creating artificial scarcity.  This issue hasn’t had much effect on the mainstream media yet, but I think we’ll be reading a lot more about it this year, especially with the recent Comcast-NBC deal.

Yahoo will continue to lay off workers

I had this prediction written in early January and then it came true.  Yahoo announced more layoffs this month and I predict we’ll see more of that in 2011.  I also wouldn’t be surprised if Carol Bartz is out of there by December.

What do you think we’ll see if 2011? Angry Birds on gaming consoles? Apple shutting down it’s Ping service? Share your predictions in the comments below!

Social media has opened up a whole new world of possibilities for independent artists looking to promote their events and performances.  An individual artist can significantly increase their audience turnout without using any money by reaching out to the over 250 million active users on Facebook.   These tips will help you start thinking creatively about using Facebook as all the possibilities are still being discovered.

1. Use your fan page

Your fan page is like your base of operations.  This is your home on facebook where fans can learn more about you and your upcoming events.  With Facebook fan pages, you are able to “Target Your Update” to a specific area when sending messages.

For example, say you are going on a 5 city tour in New England.  You could send one message to all the states in New England, a different message to each city you are visiting with more specific information, and a general wall post with comprehensive details for your fans to see.  Make sure to follow the 5 Rules for Artists Using Social Media.

Tip: To increase your # of fans, try having a sign-in/sign-up sheet at each of your events so that you can email attendees thanking them for coming and inviting them to become your fan on Facebook.

2. Create friends lists

Facebook allows you to organize your friends into different categories, giving each of them various “tags” that help you more effectively communicate with the people that matter the most.  These are great for maximizing the support of your personal connections.  Organize your friends into different tiers so that you can send them more direct messages.

Facebook makes it insanely easy to quickly invite your 500 friends to an event.  So easy that we are constantly spammed with invites to events we don’t really care about (sorry, I’m just not that interested in your “Meatloaf and Jenga Party”).

Mass inviting guests can be dangerous because your connections that don’t really care will likely ignore you, and your friends that would gladly support you could be insulted that you sent them the “mass invite” instead of something more personal.  To avoid this, create different categories for your friends (ex. frequent supporters, occasional supporters, professional colleagues, etc.) so that your invites and updates can be marketed directly to them.

3. Hold contests before the event

Umphrey’s Mcgees Lights (TomK. on Flickr)

You want to harness the power of your fans to promote your event.  Word of mouth is viral and will help increase your exposure.  Try offering a weekly prize claimable at your event for fans that do a status update or tweet about your event.  Now your fans become your promotional partners, increasing the likelihood that they will attend and giving you viral publicity for very little cost.

Example: The Umphrey’s McGee held a scavenger hunt at the Rothbury Festival in early July via Twitter, where successful treasure hunters were rewarded with DVDs, keychains, and a hand written note from the band.

4. Collaborate with other artists

Collaborating is a great way not only to meet other artists that share your interests, but also to reach an entirely new audience that might not have known about you.  Try hosting a joint event that both artists promote.  Guest post on each other’s blogs leading up to the event, cross-link to each other’s facebook pages and websites, and feature the other person’s art on your page.

5. Do a daily raffle for free tickets

The week before your event, you want to kick promotion into high gear.  This is the time that people are finalizing their plans and you want to be on their calendars.  Create buzz by having a daily raffle for free tickets (or if it is an unticketed event, give away some other prizes).  This isn’t necessarily to get those ticket winners to come, as discounted tickets decrease attendance, but rather to give a daily reminder about your event and to create an incentive for your fans to tell their friends.

Or try this: Michelle Mangione will be raffling away a free guitar signed by Grace Slick.  To be entered you must sell 10 copies of her recently released CD.  Brilliant.