Tech Trends to Watch in 2008

This brings to mind the Blackberry, which revolutionized productivity, and of course the company that makes it, Research In Motion. Between marketing programs with large telecoms, new products and the potential for more Asian market growth, this company's ability to grow through subscription services looks unstoppable.

RIMM shares have only partially reflected the success of the Blackberry franchise. Admittedly, the stock of this company trades at 33 times the consensus estimate for next year's earnings. This is almost double the 17 times multiple for the average stock in the Internet index, but this is no average stock. The company generates $550 million to $600 million of free cash flow per year and grows top-line revenue at a rate of over 60% per year. So it's natural to expect Blackberry to continue to merit a premium valuation in its business and in the financial markets in 2008.

2) Using consumers as innovators. This trend focuses on the consumer of the product or service vs. the internal contributors to the production process. The consumer-driven view requires new economic models and management processes. Online social networks were born from this trend.

For those who think that social networks are only for the "under 25" crowd and other political activists, not for investing, take note of the Microsoft (MSFT Quote) $240 million investment in privately owned Facebook in October. This high-profile transaction valued Facebook at $15 billion. The equity stake demonstrated that Microsoft was serious about its goal to invest multibillions over the next five to 10 years for companies in online advertising, search software service and hardware devices.