Mobile will remain totally chaotic, zillions more apps will be launched. A platform fight will ensue making it costly for companies developing mobile to push out new apps across multiple platforms. I don’t see that issue settling out for sometime. So if you are going mobile build to sustainable development models or simply take a vacuum to your wallet.

Facebook will remain relevant so long as it continues to be compelling to users. That means that it is in a race with itself to become more exciting.  Already we are seeing it disrupt the photo sharing market and it is disrupting the gaming market too. But to stay alive it must re-think its unintuitive interface, kloogy fan pages and make video easier to share.

Rise of vertical social networks. Yes, people have varied passions and sometimes they like to keep their lives compartmentalized. So Ning will re-emerge and become highly energized as the platform where Passionistas start their own, smaller more intimate social networks.

Engagement mechanisms and rich media will steam roll the web. Look for better video production values, more interesting games and more sophisticated applications across the board as GPS joins Augmented Reality and more. And speaking of Augmented Reality all it is lacking is great creative energy.  As I write the Camarès team has that tiger by the tail and is deep into development. More news coming soon!

This romance surround is created by implementing the highest production values. Great  imagery, with great lighting, superb sound and simply fabulous, to die for models. When done right, even an Imac is a super model. Images spill across pages of glossy luxe magazines too fabulous to touch, evoking wordless emotion. So it is no wonder that so many businesses hold up luxury goods as aspirational branding examples.

But the Internet has put a “spanner in the works” for luxury brands. The high production values they demand – rich media, flash and just plain sexy sites that are, really really cool but unusable – present a dilemma for those who aspire to higher production values: they are tough for search engine bots to crawl and tougher still for humans to shop.

Frankly, search engine indexing, is less important for a luxury brand, it is already well established. So luxury brands have the luxury of not really needing search. In actuality what they do require is a deftly produced social marketing program that propels their brand forward. Most businesses whose brands are less well known require both indexing and social media.

This presents a tension: how do you remain indexable while also presenting a rich experience? Sites must be developed with both needs front and center. And the best approach is often a hybrid. Enough rich media for sex appeal, just enough well-tagged text and regular updates to increase your importance to bots.  And here is where many non-luxury sites fall short. It is entirely possible to have rich media with great production values without spending a fortune. Its all in the planning and the choice of talent.

For non-luxury brands, social media must be produced to be repurposed across many vibrant platforms where brand influencers come to connect and play, it must engage, it must be relevant and it must be frequent. It must also be authentic. Here is where many smaller businesses can win big. Nothing beats the authentic voice of ownership, even if it is a bit packaged and polished by an agency, it still rings true.

As for shoppabillity, many luxury brands simply ignore any rational web conventions. I suppose they build in their exclusive attitude by being impossible to navigate. Businesses ought not to use them as aspirational shopping examples. However, they should build the most streamlined, elegant shopping cart possible, minimizing clicks and clutter, getting people to the submit button swiftly – now that’s luxury!

What’s better than being a luxury brand? Looking luxury but being elegantly facile to buy from.

So through Deb’s looking glass folks! Here are my top picks for things fabulous on the web:

Facebook Advertising: Yes, you heard it here, I actually like the ads. And so does Missa who enthusiastically told me it delivers ads that mean something to her. I agree! Proof point: I just discovered Gardener’s Index a social media site for rabid gardeners like, well, me. How? A targeted Facebook ad got me there.

YouTube: Now a more mature platform, passionate communities are forming around special interest film and video. I am considering giving up Cable TV all together. YouTube offerings are far more compelling. Even those that you think would not interest me like Lauren Luke the eye shadow queen. Proof? For a person who never wear’s eye shadow, I find her delightfully authentic and very watchable. Or better yet, the fabulous Italian music group Audio Toys’ Time (not a Bohemian Rhapsody by the Muppets) who had the moxie to “Miss” piggy back on the Muppets’ Bohemian Rhapsody success and gain exposure. Bravo Muppets! Bravo Audio Toys!

Bing: Now why would I, hater of all things Microsoft, have anything nice to say about them? Because they FINALLY  created something that is not only useful, it is beautiful! They actually reached my satisfaction bar, and let me tell you, in case you haven’t already guessed, that is tough to do. A team over at Microsoft sat down and said: What do users use search engines for most? Let’s deliver it to them in a clean, fully thought through, intuitive, aesthetically FABULOUS way. Buying something, or selling something? Check out cash back gleams. BING! Shopping for airline tickets? Watch how they tell you when you will most likely get the lowest price. BING! News search: their Universal Search pages are fabulous with their glide over videos. Their Visual Search, is a knock out. BING!

How does that impact your business? If you are considering search, look at Bing, if you are looking for cost effective targeted advertising look at Facebook and if you have something to SHOW visually, a story to tell, you may find your most influential Passionistas on YouTube.

Oh yeah, and then there was the White Rabbit…he was advertising Wonderland’s Most Wanted: alice a Syfy TV event Sunday Dec. 6 check the really cool web promo.

The White Rabbit on Sixth Avenue today – Oh and look, he's standing on the entrance to the Rabbit Hole!