1. Ignorance is bliss? Progress on Developing ROI Metrics may be limited this year, as we're finding that some colleagues would rather not know how to measure Return on Investment, for one reason or another. In spite of the obstacles, we continue to forge ahead. Contact cheryl@USjournal.com for a copy of our latest findings.

2. Retiring Baby Boomers: Alan Kay (renowned visionary and pivotal researcher in modern computer science) remarked that Perspective is worth 80 IQ points. Deep perspective (i.e., institutional knowledge and a feel for the market) contributes greatly to effective international student recruitment. Younger colleagues would be wise to capture that perspective before it retires.

3. The World's Internet Penetration Rate increased from 16.7 percent last year to 18.9 percent as of 30 September 2007, with 1,244,449,600 current users. Another spin on those stats: When you advertise online, in essence you're marketing to the most affluent one-fifth of the world's population. This trend will not last forever (see next trend). Source: InternetWorldStats.com

4. The One Laptop per Child Initiative (which USjournal.com fully supports) has stumbled across a few political roadblocks in its effort to develop and distribute $100 laptops to poor children around the world. Here's Harvard Business School's case study: http://hbswk.hbs.edu/item/5813.html

5. Native English Speakers represent only 30.2 percent of the world's 1.2 billion regular Internet users. Chinese continues its steady increase, at 14.7 percent as of 30 November 2007. The most impressive language growth since the year 2000 has been Arabic, at a rate of 1,575.9 percent. Source: InternetWorldStats.com. All signs point to 2008 being a very busy year for translators and Web localization teams, as noted by GlobalByDesign.com. We can help: cheryl@USjournal.com

6. Global Mobile Usage: We've only realized a small fraction of the potential of mobile content and services. Budde.com.au estimates that by 2015, mobile (cellular) content could be worth well in excess of $1 trillion, with voice comprising only 10 percent of the market. How does your .edu domain display on a 1.5-inch by 2.5-inch screen? Have you registered your .mobi domain yet?

7. Telepresence: Immersive video technology will soon be able to interoperate with traditional video-conferencing equipment (source: http://money.cnn.com/), providing a more robust platform for events such as virtual fairs, student interviews, and campus tours.

8. Outsourcing / Out-tasking: An increasing number of advertising agencies have been contacting USjournal.com to promote their client campuses; results have been mixed, at best. Agencies tend to focus solely on the numbers, while international admissions counselors take into account many more variables when courting prospective students.