This time of year you no doubt will see countless lists and projections of what will occur in 2009.  However I thought you would like to see what WON’T happen next year.

Given the global recession, lots of things won’t happen in 2009, of course. So ABI Research’s analysts focused on several of the company’s core areas of expertise, including mobile marketing and mobile banking, near-field communication, digital media, IPTV, transportation, navigation and location based services, mobile phones and mobile telecoms, intellectual property, Wi-Fi, WiMAX and other networks, with a special look at Asia.

Any contrarian look at what won’t happen naturally sheds light on what might. While many markets are undeniably in turmoil, there are opportunities as well as challenges, and surprising bright spots amid the gloom.

Will mobile marketing hit the big time? No; but the mobile Internet is powering ahead and creating a foundation for the future.

Will IPTV replace traditional broadcast TV? Absolutely not. But some markets are robust and some providers are prospering.

Will the “location industry” get lost? No: in fact 2009’s climate may have a bracing effect in the longer term.

With its mix of expert opinion, informed assessments, and wry humor, “What’s Not Going to Happen in 2009″ makes for a lively and informative read.

Most U.S. adults find Internet access essential to daily life in today’s economic climate, with some choosing it as a must-have over watching TV and having sex, according to the recent “Internet Reliance in Today’s Economy” survey conducted by Harris Interactive* and sponsored by Intel Corporation.

The survey revealed that 65 percent of adults feel they cannot live without Internet access, and even more – 71 percent – responded that it is important or very important to have Internet-enabled devices, such as laptops, netbooks and mobile Internet devices (MIDs) that can provide them with real-time updates on important issues including the state of the economy. Most U.S. adults also identify the Internet as a key tool in today’s economy for managing personal finances, finding discounts and the best deals while shopping online, and many rated access to the Internet as indispensable compared to other discretionary items, such as dining out, shopping for clothes and gym memberships.

Key Survey Findings

Would You Choose the Internet Over Sex?: According to the survey, nearly half of women (46 percent) and 30 percent of men would rather go without sex for 2 weeks than give up Internet access for the same amount of time. For women aged 18-34 it was 49 percent and for women aged 35-44 it was 52 percent. For men aged 18-34, it was 39 percent.

Internet Access Essential in Today’s Economic Climate: Ninety-five percent of adults feel that it is very important, important or somewhat important for people to have devices that allow them to access the Internet. A majority (82 percent) agree that Internet-enabled devices help them stay up to date real-time on the state of the economy. Eighty-seven percent say that Internet access has helped them save money. Of these adults:

• Eighty-four percent have saved money by comparing prices online and finding the best deals before making purchase decisions.
• Sixty-six percent have saved money simply by shopping online.
• Sixty-five percent say the Internet has helped them save money by allowing them to search for coupons, discounts or special Internet promotions.

Move over Gym Membership, the Internet is a Must-Have: When asked to rate certain discretionary items on a scale of 1 (completely expendable) to 5 (cannot live without it), having Internet access ranks highest among the items listed, with 65 percent of U.S. adults reporting they cannot live without it. The following items and activities were ranked below Internet access in importance:

• Cable television subscriptions (39 percent)
• Dining out (20 percent)
• Shopping for clothes (18 percent)
• Gym membership (10 percent)

The Internet Trumps the TV: The majority (61 percent) of adult women would choose to give up watching TV for 2 weeks instead of giving up access to the Internet for only 1 week, and more than half of all U.S. adults (58 percent), both male and female, agree. Many shows and movies are available online, and laptops with powerful, energy-efficient processors make TV watching – even when on the go – possible almost anywhere.

• Sixty-seven percent of U.S. adults aged 18-34, 57 percent of U.S. adults aged 35-44 and 52 percent of U.S. adults aged 45 and older would rather go 2 weeks without watching TV than give up Internet access for a week.

Life is Better Because of the Internet: Nine of 10 U.S. adults (91 percent) report that the ability to access the Internet has improved at least one aspect of their lives. Within this group:

• Seventy-eight percent say their ability to stay in touch with friends and family has improved.
• Sixty-eight percent say they are able to shop more effectively.
• Nearly half (47 percent) say they are able to manage their finances better because of the Internet through activities such as online banking and paying bills.

Should I disconnect the cell phone? Boycott voice mail? Throw the PDA out the window? As a chaotic 2008 comes to a close and workers resolve to regain sanity in 2009, where do they go for answers to questions about how to cope with information overload?  Inspired by their Future of Work study, Xerox has given nine tips to help you save time and manage information overload.

1. Breathe. It may sound simple, but not enough people take the time to do it. So schedule breaks into your daily working routine. It helps productivity – even stepping away from your desk for a moment. Even a quick nap helps you regenerate and be more productive. Research supports this, we swear.
2. Simplify Your Schedule. Try scheduling all of your meetings on specific days so you have more time on non-meeting days to process information coming in – it’s much easier to focus when you don’t have a meeting looming in 20 minutes.
3. Back It Up. No information is worse than too much. Make sure you have a solution in place for regular back-up.
4. De-clutter Your Desktop (both of them). File, pile or toss papers as soon as you receive them. Scan and save important documents to reduce desktop clutter instead of filing. On your computer, consider getting rid of folders altogether and using desktop search engines to find things when you need them.
5. Touch it Once. Often we waste time dealing with the same piece of information again and again. Respond as soon as you receive it, put it in its file or delete it/shred it the first time you touch it.
6. Forget the Free Stuff. It comes at a price (e-mail garbage and unsolicited offers). Choose quality over quantity. Manage your bills and accounts online and sign up for the do not call lists and the no junk mail lists.
7. Use Your Tools. Make use of your phone for getting the right info at the right time. For instance, you don’t have to waste time printing maps if you can access them from your phone. GPS phones have the smarts to give you the right information based on your actual location.
8. RSS Reprieve. Sign up for an aggregator. It helps you see all your news in one place.
9. Manage Mobile Madness. Use a mobile device with e-mail support to make hours way from your desk more productive. Keeping track of e-mail throughout the day can help you anticipate future work, and take care of mini-projects as they arise instead of waiting until later to sift through a huge pile of e-mail.

Turkeys and hams and fruit baskets, oh my! With Christmas just around the corner, many employers may be scrambling to determine the perfect gift to give their employees. Does your employer resemble Ebeneezer Scrooge or Oprah when it comes to gift giving? One company was drawn to ask… just what do today’s companies offer employees at the holidays?

The answer to this question is revealed in a consumer survey conducted by The HON Company, a leading designer and manufacturer of office furniture. The online poll of more than 830 adults nationwide pulls back the ribbons and bows to uncover just how generous (or not so generous) employers are at the holidays.

Christmas Cash Tops the List

According to the survey, most companies (54 percent) offer a cash bonus at the holidays. Twenty two percent offer a gift certificate, and nearly 20 percent put supper on the table – with five percent offering a holiday ham, four percent giving a turkey and nine percent providing other food items (i.e. fruit baskets).

Yet, while nearly 75 percent of employers do provide some sort of holiday incentive, a surprising 24 percent follow in the steps of Mr. Scrooge and don’t give any gift at all.

And what about the surveyer itself… just what does The HON Company offer its employees at the holidays? For more than 60 years, HON has given out a holiday ham. In fact, in 2009, HON will provide more than 4,000 hams to its employees around the country.

Oprah Winfrey has been named the most powerful woman in entertainment on The Hollywood Reporter’s 17^th annual Women in Entertainment: Power 100 special issue, honoring the top 100 women in the motion picture and television industries. The announcement was made at The Hollywood Reporter’s annual breakfast that took place this morning at the Beverly Hills Hotel.

“The decision to place Oprah at the top of the list was based on her dizzying array of Oprah-branded media and her immense cultural influence,” said Hollywood Reporter Editor-in-Chief Elizabeth Guider. “Today’s most powerful woman in entertainment might just be the most influential woman in America.”

Winfrey is the most notable shift on the list, moving up from 2007’s number six spot. Of last year’s top ten, nine are making their third or greater consecutive appearance, with Mary Parent the only newcomer, making her first appearance on the list. The group is rounded out by: Anne Sweeney, Disney Media Networks Co-chairman (No. 2), Amy Pascal, Chairman, Sony Pictures Entertainment Motion Picture Group; Co-chairman, Sony Pictures Entertainment (No. 3), Nancy Tellem, President, CBS Paramount Network Television Entertainment Group (No. 4), Stacey Snider, Co-chairman and CEO, DreamWorks SKG (No. 5), Bonnie Hammer, President, USA Network and Sci Fi Channel (No. 6), Judy McGrath, Chairman and CEO, MTV Networks (No. 7), Mary Parent. Chairperson Worldwide Motion Picture Group MGM (No. 8), Dana Walden, Chairman 20th Century Fox Television (No. 9), Nina Tassler, President, CBS Entertainment (No. 10).

The Hollywood Reporter’s Power 100 list draws from a diverse group of creative and executive talent. A team of editors and reporters perform field research and cull through hundreds of submissions to determine who makes the final list. While ability to greenlight content (or access to that person) remains the most important criterion, The Hollywood Reporter team also examines each woman’s position in her company, how many people report to her and how much money she controls when determining the rankings.

As in the past, this year’s issue also ranked the Top 10 actresses by salary. Though the industry has seen prices drop for both male and female stars, there are still a handful of actresses, some relative newcomers, who can command multiple millions to make a picture. Last year’s No. 2, Angelina Jolie, claimed the top spot from top earner Reese Witherspoon. Julia Roberts claimed No. 2, even after a long absence from the screen, earning $15 million-plus for “Duplicity.” Reese Witherspoon and Cameron Diaz are No.’s 3 and 4 respectively, while screen-novice Katherine Heigl made her first appearance on the list at No. 5.

In spite of the struggling economy, entrepreneurship in America has the potential to flourish as people seek new career opportunities or additional revenue streams. As the fastest-growing sector of new small business owners in the country, women, are creating new jobs for themselves and are taking advantage of resources available to them to bring their business ideas into reality. Today, Yahoo! Small Business and Carolyn Kepcher of “The Apprentice” fame and creator of fwm (Finding What Matters), a network of career/life experts and resources for women, named Dana Rubinstein, founder of small business Dapple, winner of the national grant program, “Seeds for Success: Empowering Women Entrepreneurs.” The program was launched in April to promote women’s entrepreneurship enabled by the Internet.

Rubinstein’s commitment as a mother to only use organic and environmentally-friendly baby products inspired her to start Dapple, a company that creates natural and safe baby-specific cleaning products, with partner Tamar Rosenthal. Since the beginning of the Seeds for Success program, Dapple has made exceptional progress, developing an e-commerce site with Yahoo! Small Business, launching two new patent-pending product lines, securing distribution in more than 45 boutique stores and two major retailers, and winning an iParenting Media Award, a prestigious consumer accolade that determines best products in the marketplace. In less than six months, Dapple has sold 25,000 units, with sales increasing 43 percent in the third quarter and more than 500 percent in the fourth quarter to date.

“The expert guidance, consulting services and monetary grant Dapple received from Yahoo! Small Business and fwm made this contest invaluable to the strength of our company and the speed at which it has taken off. The full package has enabled us to make smarter business decisions that have accelerated our success in a very short period of time,” said Rubinstein. “Through this program, I’ve been empowered to turn my small business dream into a reality. I am excited to continue to build Dapple, and I hope to be a role model for other women who are considering launching businesses online.”

The three “Seeds for Success” finalists were selected from 5,500 applicants and each awarded a $20,000 grant; $5,000 in Web site consulting from Yahoo! partners Exclusive Concepts, Fast Pivot, and EY Studios; and two years of complimentary Yahoo! Small Business services. fwm also matched the finalists with free one-on-one mentoring by a team of business leaders, including Kepcher; Bobbi Brown, founder and CEO of Bobbi Brown Cosmetics; and Cathie Black, president of Hearst Magazines.

As the grand prize winner, Rubinstein receives an additional grant of $10,000, promotional support, and additional mentoring from Kepcher. She was selected by a panel of judges and mentors who weighed the finalists’ performance against a number of milestones including Web site development, sales, partnerships, public relations and marketing, among others. There was also an online voting portion that attracted nearly 660,000 votes.

At the outset of the program, Rubinstein’s goals were to build nationwide awareness for Dapple, communicate the company’s brand as synonymous with safe, natural baby-cleaning products, and launch new products. Dana’s technology mentor, Scott Smigler from Web design firm Exclusive Concepts, helped her to “make over” her Web site and establish a strong online strategy. The new Dapple Web site is professional, optimized for search engines and complete with Yahoo! Merchant Solutions’ e-commerce functionality.

“Entrepreneurs play a critical role in developing a healthy economy, and strategic use of the Internet is crucial in driving the success of small businesses,” said Susan Vobejda, vice president of marketing, Yahoo! Small Business. “In the case of our Seeds for Success finalists, Yahoo!’s tech mentors worked closely with each one to help design and launch Web sites that met their product and marketing needs and the work is paying off. Yahoo! Small Business wants to foster continued online innovation, so we hope this program inspires other women entrepreneurs to turn their passion into a profitable business.”

Carolyn Kepcher added, “When the economy is unstable, people turn to entrepreneurship as an avenue for change. By tapping into the contributing experts of fwm, we were able to provide resources to create a truly unique and personalized learning experience for the three finalists, helping them achieve dramatic growth within a short time frame despite a down economy.”

Other program finalists included Karla Duncan, founder of Head 2 Toe Publications, an innovative publishing company that develops products for parents and therapists to assist special needs children up to age 13, and Abby Port, creator of Red Koala, a company that produces online customizable art for nurseries and children’s rooms.