Trend Predictions for 2014 in Tech, Pop Culture, Media and Consumer Sentiment.

1. 10 TRENDS TO
WATCH IN
2014

2. The Year of the
Neo-Stoner
Marijuana will influence
mainstream culture
visually, musically and
politically. But the neostoner is likely to be a
high paid rock star
coder or engineer at a
Silicon Valley startup.
This will be THE year that Marijuana becomes a mainstream
political issue across the nation, dominating political debate.

3. Increasing
Resentment Against
the Tech Elite
The growing skills
void between the
average rank and file
worker is fuel for
resentment,i.e., the
fight against Google
buses in San
Francisco.
As the tech elite get
smarter, younger,
richer and loaded
with Bitcoin, the
average American is
getting poorer and
faces a bleak market
for non-tech jobs.
Furthermore, the rise
of the tech elite
spurns higher cost of
living in urban areas
displacing those who
can’t afford increased
rents.

4. Funk & Psychedelia
Make a Comeback
Expect a resurgence of funk, psychedelia, and general weirdness in culture. New
interest in funk music will be sparked by the James Brown biopic, Outkast’s reemergence on the music scene, and Nelson George’s funk documentary on VH1,
all putting this music back into the consciousness of the mainstream. 2014 could
also be akin to the psychedelic summer of 1967 as there will be an abundance of
groovy music festivals.

5. A New Civil
Rights Movement
Will Emerge
2014 will be the year
that various
grassroots
movements
crystallize into a more
focused mass
movement around
racism, mass
incarceration, access
to healthcare, income
inequality, voter
suppression, and
education. This time
the collective voice
on social media is the
leader of the
movement.

6. The
Smartphone & Tablet
as Life’s “Controller”
Google’s acquisition of Nest is a
HUGE signifier of what is to come
as it relates to the connectivity of
the Internet of Things. In 2014 the
smartphone and tablet computer
will elevate even more in
importance and Apple will surprise
us all with stellar new products thus
reasserting its brilliance as a
consumer tech company. The
smartphone/tablet becomes an
extension of our human capabilities
and a sensored controller to our
ever smartening homes.

7. Data science gives
us the power to
unlock breakthrough
insights that can be
effectively employed
to minimize creative
risk and increase
probability of
successful content
creation. Netflix has
been at the forefront
of using data this
way. This year,
expect more creative
content departments
forging closer
connections with
analytics. Also, we
will begin to see job
descriptions looking
for creative/analytical
hybrids.
The Quantified
Creator

8. Entertainment in
:15
The Instagram 15 second video will
begin to steal some thunder from
the absurdist entertainment found
on YouTube. As attention spans
continue to shrink, Instagram has
hit gold with the 15 second video.
Content creators will get really
creative within this medium.
Production values and the visual
aesthetic of the :15 will improve
dramatically.

9. Denver, the new Brooklyn
Weed, an eco system of “green”
investment, new construction
growth, an increasing population
of young people, new economy
businesses, and an openness to
innovation could make
Denver/Boulder one of the
epicenters of the new economy.
You no longer need a passport
to fly to Amsterdam to indulge
legally. Denver will see a boom
in weed tourism.

10. We expect to see
an explosion of data
security startups in
the wake of the
Target and Neiman
Marcus security
compromises.
There will also be
more startups to
help humans control
and broker the sale
of their own data.
People are now
sensitized to how
our personal data is
mined and
monitored, and want
to benefit monetarily
as data companies
have.
Data Protection Startups
and Reassertion of
Personal Data Control

11. Re-Segregation & the Creative
Underground Railroad of Content
2013 set up a yearning for the new amid growing weariness over the banality of the
status quo. Expect an explosion of quality content from various corners of the web
produced without concern to mainstream taste. The web “chitlin circuit” will have
the richest and most diverse entertainment.

12. Method+ology
CultureLab compiled and
synthesized this list based
on real-time social data,
ethnographic research, inperson interviews, and our
annual trend summit focus
group.

13. CultureLab is an Innovation and Cultural Strategy consultancy helping companies and
institutions stay ahead of the curve, and relevant, in a relentlessly fast changing
marketplace. We utilize cutting edge tools to provide real-time consumer insight and
real-time trends intelligence.
Our services include:
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For inquiries contact Kevin Walker at kevin@culturelabagency.com