Many of these trends have been evolving for some time now and will surely receive attention in 2010.

Trends pointed out are: Flex & Flash, Micro-blogging/Messaging/Status Updates, Online Reputations, Cloud Computing, Social Media, Geolocation, Video Advertising, Search, Mobile, Real-Time, Content Creation, Analytics.

No longer an issue of hardware:

Stacked up side by side the Nexus One has better hardware than the iPhone but that is a meaningless fact as Apple can ultimately upgrade iPhone’s hardware for future releases. Differentiating phones by upgrading hardware as the unique differentiator is a strategy doomed to failure similarly to what is happening with desktop computers. Image and price will take a bigger part in the decision making process. Over time, and maybe it has already begun, consumers are worrying less about hardware and more about features and image.

Fenwick & West’s recent survey of venture capital investing leaves room for optimism as the 4th quarter of 2009 is already underway. The survey tracks numerous points of venture capital spending and is able highlight percentage changes from quarter to quarter. Although precise explanations for statistical changes are hard to pinpoint, generalizations can be made.