Final predictions for 2018: Wedding bells for Taylor Swift, curtains for President Trump

In late December, I published a list of bold predictions for 2018 from numerous sources. After that post, many other pundits made their predictions.
What follows is a roundup of some of their most interesting predictions.

Engagement for Taylor Swift, divorce for Will Smith

Nicola Byrne, a writer for the Daily Edge, predicted that singer Taylor Swift will get engaged to boyfriend Joe Alwyn in 2018, while actors Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith will split.

Internet media acquisitions

Twitter, Snap, BuzzFeed and Pinterest are acquired (or valued in subsequent financing rounds) at 25% to 50% of their market highs, Scott Galloway, a professor of marketing at the New York University Stern School of Business, said in a post on Seeking Alpha. All four will continue to underwhelm at the hands of the Facebook and Google advertising market duopoly, he said.

Twitter will be acquired

BTIG analyst Richard Greenfield predicted that Twitter will be acquired in 2018.
“Twitter offers a unique acquisition opportunity for any company looking to own breaking news, politics and sports, infused with video on mobile devices with tens of millions of daily active users across the world,” Greenfield said in a blog post. “Add to that a vast treasure trove of data on its users and a Twitter acquisition becomes compelling for many companies … Twitter also gives a buyer a home screen-worthy mobile app that has eluded essentially everyone not named Google, Facebook, Apple and Snapchat.”

2018 Time Person of the Year: Robert Mueller

Galloway predicts that President Donald Trump will vacate the White House in 2018 (possibly for health reasons) and Vice President Mike Pence will be sworn in as the 46th U.S. president. Galloway offered no explanation for Mueller’s selection as Time’s Person of the Year. Mueller is heading up the investigation into Russia’s possible interference in the 2016 election.

Amazon will acquire Target

Loup Ventures predicted that e-commerce leader Amazon.com will buy discount retailer Target in 2018.
“Amazon believes the future of retail is a mix of mostly online and some offline. Target is the ideal offline partner for Amazon for two reasons: shared demographic and manageable but comprehensive store count,” the venture capital firm said in a blog post.

Netflix buys a studio

To ramp up its original content production, internet television leader Netflix might buy a studio this year, Variety magazine predicted.
“One potential takeover target: MGM, which oversees a large library of movies and TV shows, with James Bond, ‘Stargate,’ ‘Rocky’ and ‘RoboCop’ among its franchises,” Variety said.

Microsoft makes big security acquisition

The Information predicted that Microsoft will make a “major, multibillion-dollar security acquisition” in 2018 and named FireEye as a potential target.

Google preps consumer augmented-reality headset

Google kicked off the idea of head-mounted computing devices with Google Glass a few years ago and likely will develop augmented-reality glasses to be announced in 2018, Eric Jhonsa, technology columnist for TheStreet, said in a column.
“This doesn’t necessarily mean Google or its partners will launch consumer AR headsets in 2018, given there are technical challenges to overcome in areas such as display quality and (given the form factors involved) processing power,” he said. “But the time feels right for Google to get the ball rolling. Look for reports and/or announcements regarding a new consumer AR push before the end of 2018.”

Related reading:

Bitcoin boom and bust, Magic Leap glasses flop and other 2018 tech predictions (Dec. 23, 2017)

Psychic predictions for 2018 (Dec. 24, 2017)

Photo: Taylor Swift’s smartphone app from Glu Mobile.