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The countdown is on. Only a handful of sleeps until 2009 and of course the predictions are flowing thick and fast. The experts are gazing into their crystal balls and sharing their visions for 2009 in terms of search, social, online, mobile and marketing in general.

I've pulled together a list of the best predictions I've uncovered so far and detailed them below. (if I've missed any - share them via our comments, and I'll add them in).

Of course we had to get involved in the future gazing fun, and have thrown our predictions in the mix. So first up, here's where Warren Duff, ineedhits CEO, thinks 2009 will take us:

1. Google will cull non-revenue generating services in an effort to exceed analyst expectations. The share price will not recover to its $600USD high.
2. Google will also face a massive legal challenge in 2009 from a non US country regarding its business practices.
3. The Web 2.0 bubble will burst with many companies entering the "dead pool". The only companies which will survive will be those who have a sustainable business model.
4. Twitter will be bought by a major internet player and whilst will remain free to use for basic version, a premium service offering will emerge. Will continue to be plagued by reliability issues whilst seriously challenging mainstream media and blogs in breaking news.
5. Yahoo! value will drop considerably, forcing even further reduction in forces worldwide. Their search market share will continue to decline at the benefit of Google and Microsoft. Microsoft will over take Yahoo! in terms of search share within the US, forcing Yahoo! to reconsider its search options.
6. Search spending growth will slow considerably in the first half of the year but still grow (single digits). Growth will accelerate to double digits by end of 2009.
7. 2009 will be known as the year that SaaS becomes mainstream, with fortune 500 companies adopting it to reduce costs. Amazon will loose its place as the number one provider of cloud services to start ups, with major IT vendors all offering competiting products but with a far superior development interface i.e. merging of cloud services into traditional desktop development tools.

And now for the prediction lists. There's quite a few, so grab yourself a glass of eggnog (or something stronger), sit back and enjoy.

• Search Engine Watch: What Will 2009 Bring Us?
• Find Resolution: 2009 Predictions for Search Marketing
• Search Insider: Search Trends To Watch In 2009
• Search Marketing Now: 2009 Predictions

• ReadWriteWeb: 2009 Internet Marketing Predictions
• Peter Kim: Social Media Predictions 2009
• FastCompany: 8 Experts Predict How Web 2.0 Will Evolve In 2009
• Junta 42: 42+ Social Media and Content Marketing Predictions for 2009
• Shawn Farner: 5 ballsy social media predictions for 2009
• Social Media Explorer: Social Media Predictions For 2009

• SD Interactive: Online Marketing Predictions for 2009
• eMarketer: eMarketer's Predictions for 2009
• Website Magazine: 2009 Web Predictions
• Clickz: Digital Marketing Opportunities in 2009
• Blind Five Year Old: 2009 Internet and Technology Predictions
• Feed Growth: The Top 100 Digital Marketing Ideas for 2009

• Gomo news: Mobile Predictions 2009
• web analytics world: Predictions for Mobile in 2009

• FolioMag: 117 Magazine and Media Predictions for 2009
• Market Evolution: Our predictions for newspapers in 2009 and beyond
• iMedia: 2009 Predictions: Your Survival Guide
• Marcom Professional: 2009 PR industry predictions: clients are king
• Online Spin: My Five (Early) Predictions for 2009

Now where do

think 2009 will take us.

• Will Google continue to control the search engine space in the way it has over the last few years?
• Will the world of SEO tumble at the hands of universal and personalized search?
• Will the cloud and crowd live up to the early buzz?

Gaze into your crystal ball and share your thoughts for 2009.

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