Originally published in Harvard Business Review.It's that time of year again — time to take a stab at what's going to matter in the year ahead as technology continues to influence how we work and live. In previous years, I've looked at trends under the "social media" lens because that has been the major disruptive force, creating both opportunities and threats. This year, I'm using the umbrella term "social-digital" to broaden the focus. First, a quick re-cap from last year:
content cyborg data David Armano digital sensory intelligence smobile social social commerce trendsThe more we contribute, communicate share and talk online the more we leave a trail of personal data in our tracks. This may be data about what we say to whom on Twitter, when we are most active or the photos we take. Or it may be data that we have captured from a specific activity – data on every run I have done in the last two years is stored by Runkeeper, for example.
infographics Matt Rhodes Facebook data data visualisationby: Jason Miller
It’s a business-eat-business universe and B2B marketers today must utilize social media channels if they want a chance at surviving alone in the deep recesses of space. Businesses that understand the importance of adding social elements to their marketing campaigns empower customers and prospects to share with their networks. This peer-to-peer word of mouth messaging is highly trusted and very effective in amplifying the impact of your campaigns.
campaigns data infographics Jason Miller MarketoI have already said a few words about the latest census data. Thanks to Richard Webber I have just been reading a more detailed analysis of what has been happening in London - 2011 Census first results: London boroughs’ populations by age and sex.
data demographics Dick Stroud grey marketing UKThis chart published over on The Atlantic shows how out of kilter the US is in not requiring companies to give their staff paid annual leave. Almost worse than that is the fact that, according to a JetBlue/Harris Interactive study, no less than 57% of Americans ended up not using all the holiday time they were actually given in 2011.
Neil Perkin media life trends dataWhat is currently planned at Alibaba, Tencent, Sina, and Baidu worth an additional paper. My duty is to continue the story published last year and called “Chinese Internet industry ready to grow beyond borders”.
China data Internet technology Yann GourvennecIn the second half of 2012, IBM issued its fifth biennial Global CEO Study titled Leading Through Connection. IBM says this study is based on face-to-face conversations with more than 1,700 CEOs in 64 countries. I have been reading it and want to share with you what I make of it.
CEOs data IBM insights Maz Iqbal technologyI’m fortunate enough that the tools of my job happen to be things I personally enjoy. Instagram has become my main network of choice, I check twitter first and last thing every day (and several times in between) and recently I’ve even (finally) come to appreciate Google+.
data Dirk Singer Facebook insights Pinterest social media trafficLast summer, the fastest way to spend $50 in America was to fill up at the pump. This summer, the fastest way to blow through $50 might be streaming videos and music from the Web to your smart phone. From cable companies to wireless providers, the companies that provide the tubes of the Internet are waking up to the sheer amount of data that’s coursing through their networks and cooking up new pricing plans that are based on data usage.
Dominic Basulto data digital mobile telecom ISPby: Josh Aberant
Many marketers have been in a situation where their boss comes up with a crazy idea they would like to have implemented. Staying focused on initiatives that work often requires pushing back on the idea, but the problem is that staying employed often requires entertaining the idea. This results in a conundrum for marketers.
Marketo interviews Josh Aberant innovation databy: Jon Stokes, via the fresh networks blog
Walmart, the world’s largest retailer, acquired social media firm Kosmix just over a year ago, creating @WalmartLabs, with the intention to use this specialist R&D unit to define the future of commerce by merging social, mobile and retail.
So far WalmartLabs has released two interesting developments using social:
data Jon Stokes Walmart