SOCIAL-DIGITAL TRENDS FOR 2013
David Armano
Managing Director,
Edelman Digital Chicago
@armano

IT’S THAT TIME OF YEAR AGAIN…
It’s that time of year again – time to take a stab at what’s While I didn’t specifically connect it to the election, it was the
going to matter in the year ahead as technology continues to behavior of social sharing that many of us felt during the
influence how we work and live. In the previous years, I’ve entire election year. You couldn’t get away from Facebook
looked at trends under the social lens because, from a macro posts of friends who were all too happy to leverage their
perspective, it has been the major disruptive force both in networks to talk politics, often sharing posts and memes in
creating new opportunities as well as threats. This year I am support of their candidate– Big bird, binders and
using the umbrella term “social-digital” to broaden the focus.
First, a quick re-cap:
bayonets anyone?

Social TV has continued to gain steam, though interestingly enough it has been TV
itself that has been fueling much of the trend. For example, the popular series “The
Walking Dead” has been experimenting with simple Twitter hashtags for each
episode in addition to the official one connected with the series. Social entertainment
platforms, however, like Get Glue, which was recently acquired for 25 million in
cash, have yet to enter the mainstream.
What has mainstreamed is the micro-economy powered by once unknown entities
such as Kickstarter – it is now not uncommon for individuals to raise thousands and
even millions of dollars without a middleman, thanks to the crowd-funding platform.
On the flipside, gamification has either lost some of its luster or
taken a backseat to useful functionality. A recent Gartner study urges us
not to “believe the hype” – and indeed I may have been caught up by the promise
of making experiences stick via serving neuro-rewards vs. utility. Meanwhile, the
cult of influence continues to attract a following with new digital influence
measurement services like Little Bird receiving funding, followed by studies crowning
the most influential CMOs. So what can we potentially expect to see next year?
In no particular order,
HERE ARE SIX SOCIAL-DIGITAL TRENDS TO WATCH IN 2013:

THE CONTENT ECONOMY
Content just might become your company’s most valuable asset in 2013
for several reasons. For years Google has been refining its algorithm,
cracking down on the individuals and organizations that benefit from
unsavory tactics often compromising the quality of search results. Now,
it is the most compelling content that dominates search results, and
organizations will scramble to produce this. Some already have,
including companies like Coca-Cola and Intel, which launched
corporate entities focused purely on content. Separately, Facebook is
making its own changes, forcing companies to rely on both creativity
and spending (promoted posts) to ensure their content is seen and
more importantly shared by users. Brands like Oreo may have
unwittingly set the bar for content creation for other organizations by
pioneering a form of “content marketing,” putting out one piece of
timely, relevant and highly creative content every day as part of a
campaign. In 2013, content
will not only be king – it will
be the queen, prince and jester.

CYBORG CENTRAL
Think your mobile phone is making you part computer? Now it
has accomplices. From “fuel bands” to bracelets and Google
Glasses, these are just a preview of what we’ll see more of in
2013 as we begin to look part-human, part-machine. There
are already ski goggles that display a tiny screen allowing
you to not only sync to your mobile device but help you
determine where you are and how fast you’re going. As we
move into the next year, the phrase “personal
computing” will begin to take on another meaning.

THE SMOBILE WEB
Social + mobile = “smobile.” While there’s no real insight in pointing
out that both mobile and social are going to be big in 2013, they are
increasingly becoming co-dependent – and most businesses aren’t
ready for it. A smobile Web means your customers, coworkers and
colleagues are increasingly spending time with apps, and digital
experiences optimized for mobile and social sharing and, as a result,
spending less time tethered to a PC or television. In addition,
technology is still evolving. NFC technology, for example, allows you
to transfer data to your mobile device via touch versus scanning a
cumbersome code, making mobility seamless. While Instagram
developed for smobile before the traditional web, Facebook’s
platform is still playing catch-up, but by the end of 2013 it may
become one of the leaders. Will you be ready for the smobile
web?

SENSORY INTELLIGENCE
Sensors will get smarter and become more pervasive. We
already have cars that can help us parallel park or sense
if we are too close to an object by letting us know with a
beep or a vibration. Then there are thermostats, which
learn based on how you use them – essentially self-
programming and adapting along the way. In 2013 there
will be sensors built into athletes’ helmets that measure
the impact of blows and provide real-time data outputs,
thus potentially preventing further injury. Sensors will
be everywhere – in our homes, transportation,
technology and clothing. They will become a part of our
lives by tying into our existing devices and networks. If
our plants need water, we’ll get a text or tweet, and even
a note of thanks. Now that’s smart.

SOCIAL COMMERCE
In many ways, social has mirrored the original digital revolution with
the exception that digital was built in information and social,
relationships. But when digital took on transactions and financial
exchanges, things really began to accelerate. So it will go for social
as we begin to buy each other gifts through social networks or even
set up a storefront. The idea of social commerce isn’t new,
but signs show that it’s picking up steam and 2013 may be the year
it actually begins to coalesce.

DATA SURPLUS, INSIGHT DEFICIT
As I write this, Facebook has already begun rolling out its “Photo Sync”
feature, which automatically downloads photos from your mobile device
to Facebook (privately). Some see this as a land grab for data, but it’s
not the only one – it’s often described as “the cloud,” “social data” or the
While it’s true that more of
overhyped macro label “big data”.
our data is being collected, mined and stored, people
don’t necessarily know what to do with it. There’s now an infinite
surplus of data out there but not enough qualified human beings
(analysts, sociologists, strategists, anthropologists etc.) who know what to
make of it or what to do with it. But this won’t last for long – 2013 may
be the year we focus less on data capture and start thinking about how
to understand, interpret and make good use of it.

Whether it’s content, data, sensors, smobile or feeling
like we’ve become one with technology—2013 should
be an exciting year for the social-digital revolution.
What do you think will be
TRENDS TO WATCH IN 2013?
Tell us at #EDTrends2013

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