Trend Radar 2008: Verticalization Everywhere

If you are a regular reader of this blog, you know, I am a huge believer in verticalization of the web. In fact, my entire Web 3.0 thesis is based on this idea.

In 2007, we saw the beginnings of verticalization. In 2008, I expect this trend to become rampant in all aspects of the web – commerce, content, search, and community.

With that in mind, here are some pointers to further readings:

* Connecting You With Your Intimate Bot – My Forbes column explaining Web 3.0 in the context of the travel vertical.

* The Gap In Google’s Defenses – My Forbes column exploring the Kayak vertical search roll-up deal. To be fair, for a long time yet, Google and Kayak will coexist. But in the 5-7 year horizon, I expect things to start getting exciting for the vertical brands.

* Google’s Achilles Heel – My GigaOm column discussing the vertical search movement in the context of Job Search with examples of companies like SimplyHired and Indeed.

* Vertical Ad Networks: A Trend to Watch for 2008 is my piece on monetization of vertical sites and the emerging trend of vertical ad networks brought to light by players like Glam Media, Travel Ad Network, etc.

Overall, as I said in my post on the restructuring of Time Warner, the organizing principle of the web needs to be around verticals and context, be it video, text, graphics, or search. Similarly, the monetization will also happen as advertisers look for one comprehensive ad network to reach meaningful, segmented audiences with effective campaigns.

And for that, verticalization is essential.

This segment is a part in the series : Trend Radar 2008