2008 isn’t ending as the best year ever for IT. In fact, it probably has been one of the worst. Nevertheless there’s be no dearth of Web innovations that have created quite a flutter, and appear to be here to stay.

In India, Google, like elsewhere rides the crest as far as traffic goes. Google allow searching not only in English but many Indian languages such as Hindi, Bengali, Telegu, Marathi and Tamil.
 
Yahoo’s not too far behind. Its e-mail service still ranks as one of the most popular services in the country. Even its portal and search ensure that Yahoo India is an important geo for Yahoo Inc.

Wikipedia, an online collaborative encyclopedia ranks tenth for Indian sites in Alexa.  Social networking destination Facebook has come in from behind in 2008. Facebook is fast catching up with Orkut, ranking third in Alexa list. WordPress.com, a free blog service, despite not being in the top 10 is a service to be watched.

Indians are hunting for jobs and mates if the numbers for Naukri.com, for job searches, and Bharat matrimony.com are anything to go by.
 
Twitter, Android, Live Mesh, Fire Eagle and Mozilla Weave are some properties that have created quite a buzz, and will be watched closely over the next year.

Aditya Kuber, director & chief of content, Mediasphere Communications stated, “Google has overpowered Yahoo.” According to Kuber, Yahoo is a content site, but Google being a search site has gradually become more focused with content also, thereby providing a wider scope to surfers. About blogs, Kuber says, “Fabulous! They are encouraging independent views and provides platform for creativity.”
 
On being asked about what he thinks are the top online properties this year, Kuber, listed Vimeo, Asylum (AOL), Google Chrome, Snikker in the list of Facebook and Twitter, of course.

Deepak Karambelkar, head of production, AOL India, told us: “Facebook has been catching up fast, in fact, it has now overtaken Orkut, this year.” He also said, “Bebo is yet another upcoming social networking site.”

Pioneering portal Rediff.com is very much around with free e-mail and other services still being popular.
 
Video is another area to watch for. Youtube has become increasingly popular in India, with better connectivity.

While many of these sites have stayed afloat this year, it will be interesting watching the race continue and seeing how long they survive. X