Beginning of each new year marketers and publishers feel they need to share their insights on what's going to happen next, what the next big thing is going to be, the next big strategy, the next big tactic, the next big tool and so on.

Sensing a bit of sarcasm here?

If nothing else, it's always fun to go back at the end of each year and compare your notes with the actual reality, which is usually not quite the same. What we often proclaim as the next big thing usually takes about 2 or 3 more years to come to fruition, and much of the stuff never really takes off anyway.

Fighting the temptation to do so again this year, here's my quick list on what to focus on in 2006. It's also a list I'm going to keep close to my heart and follow myself

1. Behavioral targeting in online advertising

2. Multichannel online advertising

3. Internet marketing processes and model analysis & optimization
[if anyone's figured out an easy way to do 3 dimensional or more analytics presentation models, let me know]

4. Full-scale RSS integration in key marketing processes and especially using the direct marketing approach

5. Emphasis on rich-media content marketing, especially PowerPoint video presentations, personal presentations and short podcasts

6. E-mail marketing programs, especially transactional e-mail and automated follow-up

7. Web media and social networking development

There's an 8 as well, but that's more reserved to full-scale direct marketing operations ...

8. Full-scale marketing channel integration, including multichannel online advertising, print, direct response television and direct mail on the front-end; website marketing with multivariable testing on the middle-end; and automated e-mail and RSS follow-up and full call center integration on the back-end.

Found anything exceptionally new on the list? Most certainly not. It's just good old common-sense marketing.