What's The "Buzz" For 2008?

Every year brings a new "buzz."  I'm not talking about the one you get from your bottle of bubbly on New Year's Eve.  I'm talking about the new word, the new concept, the new product that grips the public or particular segments of it, and becomes the central topic around the water cooler for the foreseeable future... or until the next "buzz" takes its place. 

I've noticed several new "buzzes" taking hold within the past several months that I predict will continue to flourish and dominate our thoughts and language during 2008.

"Going Green!"  Everyone and everything is "going green!"  Governments are "going green" with their environmental policies.  Auto makers are "going green" with their hybrid cars.  Energy companies and public utilities are "going green" with their alternative fuels.  Consumer product companies are "going green" with biodegradable packaging.  Entertainment celebrities are "going green" just because they say they are.  And I even saw a TV commercial last night that said my credit union is "going green!"  Not sure yet how that's all about!

We're "going green" right here in Covington, Georgia too!  I'm seen several hybrid cars on the streets.  The builders I work with are using more and better insulation, water-saving fixtures, and tank less hot water heaters in their new homes.  Landscapers are concerned with using plant material that takes less water.  And I already mentioned that my credit union says they're "going green!"

"Smart XXX!"  Are all of us, and everything around us, getting smarter?  Or do we just like to think so?  There is the "smart idea, smart growth, the smart house and the smart car."  I think we are getting smarter in Covington!  Our city and county planners have been concerned for quite some time about "smart growth."  Our two Traditional Neighbor Developments in Covington, Clark's Grove and Dorchester Place, bear witness to that.  And again, a builder I work with is building a "smart home" in one of those neighborhoods And, I don't know that I'm any smarter, but I do actually have a SmartCar on order.  I hope to be driving it around town by this May.   It's very small... carries two, small engine, great gas mileage, inexpensive, etc.  Maybe I'm "going green" too!

"Longtail!"  I think this buzzword evolved from Internet lingo.  In that sense it means a lasting causal relationship resulting from an Internet user's action, and not necessarily intended.  Confused?  It's as simple as ancestry and genetics.  If your great, great, great grandmother was bald, chances are you are too!   I've heard the term used mostly in Internet search engine optimization relationships, but recently its use has spilled over to economics, and national politics.  A month ago, I'd never heard the term before.

I haven't heard "longtail" used as applies strictly to life in Covington yet.  But yesterday I did see an old redbone hound with a pretty longtail!

Well, that's my perception, but I'm sure I've missed some.   What have you noticed that's going to be the "buzz" in 2008?