All things considered, I did fairly well last year with five predictions. This year, I take it up a notch. Here’s my Top Ten, no particular order:

1. MySpace wins. Facebook loses. Yes, they’re both winning right now, but the big separation begins this year. I admit it. I was wrong just a few months ago, poo-poo’ing MySpace. The site is incredible in so many ways, but from a marketer’s standpoint, it has some major upside. And the fact they’re diving into the school market and professional networking arena only makes them scarier. More on this in the month’s to come, but I’m very bullish on MySpace for next year.

I like Facebook too. However, what seemed to make it cool - students only - is now gone. The “everyone” position they now covet is owned by MySpace. Additionally, the prospect of a sugar daddy coming in and saving Facebook are fleeting. By the way, would some job site partner with Facebook already!

2. We figure out what Jobster wants to be when it grows up. Remember watching Pulp Fiction for the first time and thinking, “Where the hell is this movie going?” and then being thankful when everything came together in the end? That’s Jobster. Company head Jason Goldberg wants to “blow up” the resume and the job board. He believes and understands his strategy. This year, we’ll all be glad we stuck around for the closing credits. Will the plan work? Who cares; it’s entertaining.

3. The rise of the wiki. The success of Wikipedia is no accident. And it’s bound to spur a myriad of niche wikis. Once a solution comes around that makes setting up one as easy and customizable as a blog, wikis should become commonplace on most destination sites, as well as their own properties. And yes, there will be wikis with jobs. Mavericks like College Recruiter are already dabbling.

4. Get a Second Life! One million and growing rapidly, Second Life is sure to make things interesting in every industry, including employment. I admit being absolutely lost in this virtual world for now, but certainly see its potential for the most savvy marketers among us.

5. Indeed: Steady as she goes. Growth and success remain a constant for Indeed in ‘07, more so than its competition, by staying true to its original mission and format. The downside: The company continues to put us all to sleep while doing it. Oh well, what do you expect from a site founded by a couple of dudes from a financial board. ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

6. The Big Three go big ‘bulge.’ Fans of history might recall the final German offensive on the Western Front dubbed the Battle of the Bulge, basically one final strike at the Allies for victory, even in the face of defeat. Surprisingly, the Nazi offensive actually worked for a period of time. The current trend of partnering with print giants is sure to give Monster Worldwide and Yahoo! HotJobs a temporary boost in ‘07. Hey, how ’bout partnering with the papers for a job fair revival? But I think a greater divine intervention is needed. Maybe ‘08.

7. Verticals crack Google’s Top Ten for “jobs.” Estimates for the number of searches for the keyword “jobs” is around 15,000 daily. It goes without saying that getting on Google’s Page One for “jobs” is incredibly valuable, especially for sites that count on pay-per-click ad revenue. While no vertical job search engine currently resides in Google’s Top 100 for this keyword, I believe at least one will crack the Page One riddle in ‘07. (Plug-in hand-as-phone gesture and mouthing of “call me” here.)

8. Recruiting bloggers go prime time. 2005 was about the early adopters forming the blogosphere. 2006 was about everyone blogging. In 2007, the best of the best will begin to clearly establish themselves above the clutter and begin to break through to highly coveted employers, instead of just other bloggers. And surprise, surprise, money will be made. Blogging: It’s not just for losers anymore.

9. Google will show-up to a major HR conference. I dream of the day when Google has a presence at SHRM, or some other notable employment get-together to highlight the benefits of Base and PPC advertising. I dream about it for the obvious reasons that it’s good for business, it’s good for the employers, and it should scare the shit out of some sacred cows.

10. Hands off my content. Amidst growing success via traffic numbers and revenue, the number of actual jobs that sites like Indeed and SimplyHired have will stagnate or even decrease due to an increasing number of job boards shutting off the faucet, a la Craigslist. With success comes spam and the evil it wreaks on Web sites. As more black hats figure out how to leverage vertical job search engines for their own twisted benefit, more and more job sites and employers are going to ask, “Is it worth it?” I think a good number will Vote No on their content being spidered in ‘07.

Honorable mentions: The number of direct employers who understand and leverage search marketing continues to grow; Web 2.0 continues to emerge in the employment space, but meets less than impressive results; the head of a vertical search engine will resign or be fired.

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