It is that time of year again. Time for predictions for 2007. First out of the gate is Richard MacManus of Read/Write Web with a must read opus that covers just about everything.

My prediction for the top 5 hot areas for 2007 should be no surprise to regular readers of my blog.

1. Online Video / TV - YouTube burst onto the scene in a big way last year paving the way for consumer generated video. BrightCove is my pick for the commercial side of Internet TV/Video.
2. Browser based applications - JotSpot, SocialText, WikiCalc, Zoho, ThinkFree, and others released first versions of Office like productivity applications. Expect to see these apps get better and the competition to heat up.
3. Mobile web - The press calls cell phones the third screen (TV, Computer, Phone). They have it backwards, the cell phone is the first screen for the younger generation. Mobile applications are hot, going far beyond ring tones. Location Based Services will be hot in 2007. Mobile search is a multi billion dollar opportunity. Companies to watch; uLocate, ScanBuy, EnPocket, Innovectra.
4. RSS, Blogs, Wikis - These are already hot for the tech crowd but they will go mainstream in 2007. Blogs and Wikis will move beyond simple applications to becoming a platform for applications. Companies to watch; Blogtronix, Telligent.
5. Vertical Search - I have written extensively about the three monster markets for search; Mobile Search, Local Search, and Classified Ad Search. Other areas that will be hotter in 2007; People Search, Product Search, Video Search.

Those are my top 5 picks for hot markets in 2007. Richard MacManus has about 50 picks which I will attempt to summarize here. But, don't be lazy... read all of Richard's post here. It is worth the time.

RSS will go mainstream Structured data will be a big trend Widgets will continue rising in 2007 Web Office will continue to ramp up The consumerization of the enterprise will infiltrate corporate IT Rich Internet Apps will be a major force Google in particular will continue to push the boundaries of browser-based apps Semantic Web products will come of age Expect more big things from Amazon Expect some shakeups in the online advertising market Online ad models will improve / evolve Search 2.0 and the rise of the vertical search engines Microsoft’s Windows Live services will gain real momentum Google may come out with some form of GoogleOS Open Source Desktops will continue to gain momentum Browser competition between IE7 and FireFox (plus Flock, Opera and Maxthon) Expect Safari compatibility to rise sharply in 2007 Internet-based TV will ramp up in 2007 Peer-to-Peer will gain momentum again SecondLife - an important platform for marketing, promotion, social networking Virtual Money: Paypal showed the way, SecondLife LindeX, Microsoft points etc. The online real estate market will grow rapidly in ‘07 The search for disruptive business models will continue! Social networks will probably also become more open International Web will finally start to get its due in mainstream media One Laptop Per Child may increase the adoption of thin-client like computers Broadband continues to grow VoIP space will really hot up Mobile Web may be the big story of 2007 Mobile will be a bigger development and advertising platform in ‘07 Webphone market - for example Apple’s rumored iPhone and a GooglePhone