Imagine an active online focus group that operates in 3-D - one in which group members experience a product in real time, talk to each other, and leave and return at will, perhaps coming and going for months, all the while spreading the word about a marketer.

In 2007, it's time to climb in, hook up, and, like "Star Wars" icon Luke Skywalker, trust your feelings.

For many marketers, the overused "Web 2.0" moniker is synonymous with the network effect, be it the social search of Yahoo's Del.icio.us, the ersatz village of MySpace, or the content-sharing of YouTube.

We're all search engines now.

It's no wonder YouTube drew the attention of powerful suitors like Microsoft, Google, and Yahoo when it came up for sale.

As consumers demand more from their online experiences and software applications become more advanced, the most noteworthy trend for the future of online creative appears to be a return to the past.

Behavioral targeting has been rehearsing its pitch in the wings of the interactive marketing stage for years, but in 2007 the former dark art is headed for the spotlight.

After so much "talking the talk" and too little "walking the walk," e-mail marketing is poised to achieve its fullest potential and get the credit it deserves, say industry experts.

Online shopping at home and at work is now so commonplace that merchants are heading back to their retailing roots and using technology to create a genuinely branded shopping experience.

"Social networking is plainly the future of media," says Greg Tseng, co-founder and CEO of San Francisco-based Tagged.com.