Flip of the calendar, glance to the future: Fearless forecasts for 2009

Time to dust off the crystal ball and share my prognostications for the year ahead.

• Don't worry, the Y2K09 frenzy won't percolate to the surface like its counterpart nine years ago. Your computer clock will be safe, although the extra second that's being added to the end of 2008 may cause your calendar program to hiccup.

• The mobile wave will start to build in the United States, but will still (and always) trail what's happening in northern Europe and Asia. Smartphones will continue to get smarter and cheaper.

• Don't look for any changes to the exclusivity to particular carriers for certain hot devices. AT&T has the iPhone, T-Mobile has the G1 Google Phone and Verizon is harnessed with the BlackBerry Storm. These deals have the carriers subsidizing the cost of the phone, which is why you can get the iPhone for less than $200 now. It comes with a signed contract for AT&T.

• I also don't see a flood of "unlocked" phones hitting our shores, although I know some people who successfully buy mobile phones online and use them on networks here on which they aren't officially authorized.

It's crazy, but until our country settles on a standard for our mobile phones, the company-exclusive deals will continue. I don't see an end soon to the many forms of mobile networks here. Because of this, we'll continue to lag behind the nations that have mobile standards.

• Facebook will continue to grow and MySpace will continue to fade. I've been inundated by friend requests in the last couple of months, and have accepted most. I draw the line when I don't really know any of the "friends we have in common," but that may change.

It's a good way to keep in contact with both personal and business contacts. If you're not on Facebook now, chances are you'll at least get an invitation to join.

• Twittering will become more common. Not sure what Twitter is? Head to Twitter.com and prepare to learn how to whittle your "tweets" to 140 characters.

You can also "follow" people, organizations or events on Twitter. Some are more meaningful than others, but you can also choose to stop following anyone as well.

Sign up for the service and let your friends know. They may want to follow you on the service, which helps you share what's happening in your life.

• Spam and phishing will continue to dog us. Why? Because it works. There are enough people to take the bait and click on things they should delete. The spammers and phishers continue to be cunning and conniving. Their ability to make the phony Web sites or e-mail messages look real results in more clicks.

• Someone will take this advice: Don't click on anything in any message you didn't solicit or from a sender you don't know. Spread the word.

Share your Internet story with me at agibes@reviewjournal.com.