Wikis, blogs and social networking – once exclusively the Internet playground for techies, kids, and assorted enthusiasts – are being adopted by corporations at an explosive rate.

The race is on to embrace the power of the web to harness collective intelligence and sell products in new ways.

“Water, taken in moderation, cannot hurt anybody” – Mark Twain

Our latest ChangeWave Alliance water survey served up such a reservoir of positive data on the industry that we’ve written two reports on the findings.

The youthful enthusiasm of the software business ain't what it used to be.

Today, after years of industry consolidation, a handful of companies dominate the corporate software world. And in a market where software advancements are mostly incremental and rarely real breakthroughs, the entrenched players are challenged to maintain their margins and drive earnings growth.

Even worse, it’s forecasted that by 2025, almost two-thirds of the global population will live in countries where water will be a scarce commodity. Climate change could further exacerbate the problem.

Clearly, water issues cross all boundaries.

Even though science-based nutrition -- including food-as-medicine -- is thought to hold great promise, growth has historically been lackluster due to a deficit of physician focus on smart nutritional habits and preventive medicine. A recent ChangeWave Alliance survey on retail medicine indicated this may be changing, as bioactive foods, dietary supplements and nutritional counseling showed increased momentum within the healthcare industry.

I should add that these trends especially bode well for an exciting little company that we've recommended in our ChangeWave MicroCap Investor advisory service. But more of that later. Let's first look at key trends.

In mid-June, the Semiconductor Industry Association [SIA] cut its 2007 global sales forecast for microchips to a measly 1.8% growth rate -- down from prior estimates of 10%. Despite strength in such end markets as PCs, music players, cell phones and digital cameras, the SIA pointed to "price attrition" as the main culprit behind lower projected growth.

So how do analysts reconcile these differing indicators to know if chip companies will be up or down for the second half of 2007?

Project delays and outright cancellations are having an enormous impact on the viability of energy exploration projects, and are closely linked to a range of critical factors such as drilling day-rates, the cost of rig equipment, and the availability of drilling personnel.

Importantly, ever since the mid-1990s, oil companies have been reducing the percentage of their capital investments for exploration. Yet according to the International Energy Agency, by 2030 the world will be consuming more than 115 million barrels of oil a day, up from 85 million currently.

And we’ve barely seen anything yet.

The explosion in Internet video and video-sharing sites like YouTube are the beginning crest of a huge wave that is rapidly growing to include network TV shows, movie downloads, interactive games, and a myriad of other video-based services.

Farmers plan to plant more acres of corn this year than in any year since World War II. The boom in American corn fields is largely due to the surging demand for ethanol – the popular biofuel which now accounts for nearly 4% of the nation's fuel consumption.

But corn-based ethanol is not considered to be the long-term solution to the world’s energy problems.