10 Digital Trends in 2013: ‘Data porn’, ‘digital health’ and the UX of social

Big data analytics, biohacking and more integrated social experiences will be key trends in 2013, according to a new report.

The findings, from global PR agency Hotwire and 33 Digital, come from their fourth annual Digital Trends Report.
The report examines key trends that will dominate communications and marketing in 2013, from the influence of cheap and readily available big data to the explosion of digital health, from social business to the sentient world, next year looks to be even more diverse than 2012.
The full list of ten digital trends identified in the report are:
1) Internal social networks: There’s a shift away from the misconception that employees using social networks make are less productive. Instead, companies have started to integrate business-focused social networks such as Yammer and Convo into the architecture of a company;
2) Data porn: With big data cheaper and more readily available – through a wealth of tools and techniques to analyse it – the age of the data geek is well and truly here;
3) Digital health: The digital tsunami has disrupted almost every sector from marketing to HR. The next industry to face this digital revolution is healthcare. From biohacking our genomic data to smartphone apps that help measure our performance, there is a real opportunity for early leadership on digital health;
4) When businesses learned to be good: With public disdain towards corporate greed at an all time high, the regulatory attempts that have been made to curb these tendencies are not all that matters. Tech-led social businesses are heralding a more effective shift from this old model, and comms professionals will be amongst the most important advisers;
5) Small and beautiful: When social media was in its infancy, the larger your follower count was, the better. 2013 will shift towards smaller but more targeted measures. Niche communities will emerge that marketers will find a godsend as they provide a ready-made, interest-focused audience;
6) Sentient world: The idea that soon we will live in an ultra-connected world, where our corner shop knows that we are out of milk, has been discussed for years, but we are finally getting to a stage where the Internet of Things can become a reality – and that reality is in 2013;
7) The rise of storytelling: Social media has made storytellers of all of us, but next year, we will see the proliferation and refinement of storytelling in social media, and the most potent The most potent facet of this trend is empowering your audience to pass the story on in their own words and actions;
8) The unboxing of the television: Television is becoming ever less about the box in the room and more about content, with a layer of social interaction attached. The three trends that pose risks and opportunities for television as it stands are: the emergence of the super event, immersive, interactive television and a screen who knows who I am;
9) Selling’s from Mars, engaging’s from Venus: Until recently, there was evidence that teenagers ruled the internet, but behaviour is changing. We’ve now reached a saturation point, where people are more likely to look for meaningful connections on niche social networks. Marketers need to understand these connections and, importantly, pay closer attention to measurement in 2013;
10) UX of social: The past six years have been spent doing everything we can to increase the amount of any word-of-mouth content online, but we have yet to think about a way of integrating this activity together. In 2013, we need to ensure that there is a consistent experience no matter what channel someone is using.
Hotwire UK CEO and co-author of the report, Drew Benvie, said: “We have once again pooled the collective experience of the team at 33 Digital and their work at the coal face of digital communications to try and gauge what the world will look like for marketers and comms professionals next year. What is emerging is the need for far deeper skills in the comms team and a broader range of skills to boot. Data is leading the charge, with design and build alongside. The changes that we are seeing will require marketing departments to think more strategically about the future than ever before. In 2012, social media truly mainstreamed. Now, digital innovation is more exciting than it’s ever been, and 2013 is going to be a barnstorming year.”
Follow the conversation online at #hw33trends
You can read more about the trends and download the full report here.
www.hotwirepr.com
www.33-digital.com