What's Coming?

2011 has been a year full of technological innovation in every direction especially with regard to social media. The big concept for next year looks to be focus. Unlike this year, where innovation for its own sake meant numerous social start-ups with unclear purpose, next year we should start to see more purpose-driven design.

The economy seems to be slowly chugging to a brighter outlook, but consumer behavior has already made a shift to seeking value over status. We are going to expect the same from emerging technology.

Check-Ins

Smart phone deals are going to gain traction and start to focus consumer behavior this year. Initially panned as a fad, check-in services that survived this year will surge ahead with stronger rewards and more compelling deals. As more and more consumers discover these “hidden” deals, we will see them become an ingrained part of our culture.

Aggregators

Another big trend in the coming year will be services that organize the oceans of information that wash over us each day. Pinterest was the first independent service to capture bits of information, save them and organize them for the user. 2012 is likely to see more players in this field. Subjot similarly takes topics that interest you and sifts for just those topics. In other words, it serves you what your friends have to say only on topics that matter to you.

Attention Deficit

Remember the Facebook game that allowed you to decorate a personal Christmas tree? Social networking has evolved quickly over the last couple of years. Consumers are much more savvy and selective about content they want to see. I predict that this year will see marketers striving to excel within the various social channel algorithms so they can rise above the “feed clutter” to reach their audiences. Companies that benefit from this migration most will be the ones that offer content relevant to their audience in the most forthright and interesting way.