Author: Sharon Housley

Another year has rolled by marked by miracles, political milestones and tragedies alike. 2009 was the year of financial uproar with bailouts and ponzi schemes dominating the news on a regular basis. Chrysler and GM stalwart car giants struggled to survive. Bernie Madoff's financial pyramid came tumbling down, taking average citizen's retirement plans with it, emptying the coffers of trusting non-profits and celebrities alike.

The United States democratically dominated political landscape juggled health care reform, accusations of death boards, raucous town hall meetings and tea parties from coast to coast. The Swine Flu was quickly renamed H1N1 so that the pork industry would not suffer, and the politicized name change did little to calm pandemic worries.

2009 was also marred by a number of notable deaths. Farrah Fawcett, the charming Charlie's Angel, battle with cancer came to an end. The controversial but talented Michael Jackson succumbed to what appeared to be a fatal drug cocktail. Eunice Kennedy Shriver, known for the creation of the Special Olympics, passed on. Ted Kennedy, the patriarch of the Kennedy clan, and another controversial and historic figure, succumbed in his battle against a brain tumor. Walter Cronkite, the most trusted voice in America, died, bringing about the end of an era in journalism. Patrick Swayze who danced his way into our hearts, left us with nothing but sadness over his untimely death.

Some may see, the most noticeable death, as the death of capitalism. The bailouts, the government's role in the car companies, big government and what some seem to feel are steps toward socialism, have caused an unprecedented divide in the US.

Corruption in politics and exploitation of government backed agencies, also got play time in 2009, with Blogovich and Chicago politics making the rounds on the talk shows. The Acorn scandal, with prostitutes, pimps and brothels did not play out well for a community organizations funded by tax payer dollars.

Again, technology played a critical role in world politics, with The Twitter Revolution documenting the the corrupt Iranian election. The image of Neda, a young girl with a promising future, dying as a result of crossfire, filled the world stage, as a result of technology. The Honduran coup and political turmoil in Honduras was barely a blip on the map, over-shadowed by Iran and the King of Pop's death.

Politics and political games stretched far and wide. North Korea continued to test and provoke the United States with aggressive missile testing. And Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's rhetoric against Israel did little to settle strife in the Middle East.

The year was not without it's heroes. Captain Sully Sullivan's landing on the NY Hudson River, after a birdstrike hit the airplane, can only be seen, for what it was, a miracle.

How the happenings of 2009 will impact 2010 and the future is unclear but the year was notable for a number of reasons.

Top 10 Winners Predicted for 2010

01. Healthy Living
02. The Cloud
03. Savings
04. Simplicity in Design
05. Web Applications
06. Instant and Virtual
07. Portability
08. Energy
09. Green Shopping
10. Security


Top 10 Losers Predicted for 2010

01. Capitalism
02. Health Care
03. Credit Card Companies
04. The Left
05. Acorn
06. Big Government
07. Privacy
08. Super Star Athletes
09. Facebook
10. Reality...

More on 2010 Predictions - http://www.small-business-software.net/whats-hot-whats-not-2010.htm

Past Predictions:

2009 - http://www.small-business-software.net/what-is-hot-what-is-not-2009.htm

2008 - http://www.small-business-software.net/whats-hot-whats-not-2008.htm

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This article may be used freely in opt-in publications and websites, provided that the resource box is included and the links are active. A courtesy copy of the issue or a link to any online posting would be greatly appreciated send an email to sharon[at]notepage.net.

Additional articles available for publication available at http://www.small-business-software.net/free-website-content.htm

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About the Author:
Sharon Housley manages marketing for FeedForAll http://www.feedforall.com software for creating, editing, publishing RSS feeds and podcasts. In addition Sharon manages marketing for RecordForAll http://www.recordforall.com audio recording and editing software. "