2015 TechPredictions

An Annual Report by Donnovan Andrews

V 1.2

Anonymous FeaturesSocial networks deliver empowerment and

connectivity to users. However, these exchanges

aren’t anonymous. Specifically: posts, photos

and locations on social media, mobile, and cloud

platforms are constantly assessed and analyzed

for the benefit of marketing.

Look for: as truly anonymous networks take

root, brand marketers/product specialists will be

able to gather complaints, comments and

feedback; and users won’t fear their info is

being misused, sold or exploited with

attribution. Brands willing to push the

boundaries by experimenting in this

environment will be winners.

Companies to Watch

SnapChat Nymi

Open Whisper Systems BlackPhone

Most beacon conversations focus on the ability to deliver coupons in retail environments. Beacons’ ability to deliver messaging in different venues, however, has been largely ignored or overlooked.

Potential applications include: exclusive content in sporting areas, Wi-Fi credentials, airport maps, and museum tours.

Look for: beacon technology to be used to deliver exclusive content and invitations to micro-events and on-site experiences.

Companies to Watch

estimote phigital

Apple Qualcomm

Beacons

For more info see: BEACON TECHNOLOGY OVERVIEWhttp://www.slideshare.net/donnovanandrews/beacon-technology-overview

We all use devices to access and manage work/personal content. The challenge: having to use multiple devices, making it a chore to pick up where we left off reading, listening or viewing.

Look for: services to evolve, as we get further into 2015, offering the ability to pick up where you left off no matter what device you switch to. So… if you’re halfway through a “Game of Thrones” episode on your tablet as you walk in the front door, your Smart TV can queue where you left off. Long term, our devices will be used mainly for identification and not content containment.

Companies to Watch

Amazon Netflix

YouTube Spotify

Cloud Continuity

Cognitive Computing systems use natural language processing (NLP) and artificial intelligence (AI) to understand and predict human intentions.

IBM is the dominant player in the space and are likely to lead – as we advance past 2013/14’s big data and cloud trends to activate this data via cognitive computing.

Look for: the continued development of supercomputing systems enabling convergence of analytics, visualization and simulation – driving new insights based on the massive amounts of web, mobile and consumer data.

Companies to Watch

IBM Palantir

Cognitive Computing

Companies to Watch

popexpert twoGo

Roost Skillshare

Collaborative platforms bring people with specific skills/products/services together, to create opportunities to connect with customers.

We saw this start to take shape in 2013. In 2014, it really took solid form with collaborative enablers expanding into healthcare, logistics, corporate, utilities municipalities and learning.

Look for: continued growth in all categories by challenger startups and large firms leveraging internal assets to compete, e.g., hoteliers taking on Airbnb. Expect third-party authentication and background verification firms to emerge, as we permit strangers to interact with our daily lives.

Collaborative Enablers

*Rainbow PUSH Survey 2014

**

Jesse Jackson's Rainbow PUSH Coalition urged

Silicon Valley tech firms to disclose employee

diversity stats. The numbers: overwhelmingly

white and male – only 1% of Silicon Valley’s

workforce is African-American, despite

comprising roughly 11% of the US population.

Look for: tech firms to make big diversity

hiring strides. Also expect, in 2015, for these

firms to partner with local and regional

organizations teaching young adults to code

and to create alliances to develop S.T.E.M.

programs with HBCU.

Companies to Watch

#yes we code BlackGirlsCode

NewMe code2040.org

Diversity in Tech

With so many companies launching competing

products (especially in the app space), brands

need a way to differentiate themselves – and

consumers need more incentives to love one

brand more than another.

Look for: e-commerce operators to bundle

service utilization with donations to users’

charities of choice. This gives consumers extra

incentive to use certain platforms and to feel

good while doing it.

Companies to Watch

Uber Lift

Fandango Amazon

Donation Bundling

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has been restrictive about commercial drone use, only recently granting exemptions to four companies. The FAA is expected to release a proposal by year-end 2014 for general use (up to 55 lbs.) of commercial drones. I expect the proposal will generate enormous public commentary and could take months or years to be approved. Congress has ordered new laws be written by September 2015.

Look for: more permits to be granted to firms in different categories; US firms to test drone services in other countries; and other countries to surpass the US in commercial activation due to relaxed regulation.

Companies to Watch

Amazon.com GoPRo

Airware SkyCatch

Drones

e-Ink is electronic ink – Electronic Paper

Displays (EPD). This patterns-transmissions

technology is to mobile reading what paper is

to books.

Fashion accessories enabling e-ink uses

(beyond e-book readers) is an emerging market.

Look for: in the near future, magazine billboards

offering NFC-enabled experiences allowing

brands to transmit unique, sponsored patterns.

Companies to Watch

Seiko Zach Weiss ORBO

CST Sony

e-Ink Accessories

Emoji Diversity

In 2014, a proposal outlined how racially-diverse Emojis should be used. The proposal with Unicode (the firm setting Emoji standards) suggests users should be able to modify Emoji’s skin tones based upon the Fitzpatrick scale’s spectrum of six human skin tones.

Currently, there are 800+ Emojis, but only two represent people of color.

Look for: all major messaging apps to support racially-diverse Emojis in 2015.

Companies to Watch

Apple WhatsApp

SnapChat Viber

In 2013, MIT Media Lab grabbed a few headlines

announcing Affectiva, a startup using computers to

map facial expressions, to recognize human emotions.

It was early to be a genuine reality. But, mobile,

consumer, social and peer-proximity data are bringing

all of this together, to paint a better picture of exactly

"how we are doing."

Look for: scenarios such as being greeted at Starbucks

based on the mood you’re in that morning, or video

games presenting different challenges based on

responses to previous sets of challenges.

Companies to Watch

Affectiva Google

Netflix Microsoft / XBOX

Emotion Analysis

Most wearable tech buzz focuses on wrist devices;

however, the ear’s amazingly efficient for

measuring vital signs and delivering info. Readings

(heart rate, blood pressure, temperature, ECG and

pulse) are best taken from a part of the body in a

still or relaxed state.

Look for: wearables in 2015 to process spoken

commands for delivering contact info, weather

forecasts, driving directions, etc. Hearables

category challenges are not insurmountable. In

the near-term, social adoption and component

miniaturization must be addressed. Expect

breakouts in the space, as start-ups and

established firms race to the front of the line.

Companies to Watch

valencell Jabra Sport

The Dash / Bragi

Hearables

Okay, so Google took the bullet on this, opening up the entire category. Google Glass wasn’t what everyone wanted to see, but it was amazing... conceptually.

Look for: Google recently made a hire who will really bring aesthetics to face wearables. It's a logical next step for communications, directions, local information, and marketing.

The big challenge will be the consumer appetite of folks who don't already wear glasses. Once this market’s cracked by Google (by creating something most people want to wear), increased adoption will follow.

Companies to Watch

Google luxottica

Oculus

HUD / or Heads-up Display

For decades, entrepreneurs and media

companies have tended to go large, building

platforms to attract massive audiences. The

trend now is the reverse: the emergence of

organizations focused on creating niche website

and enewsletter content for smaller audiences.

Look for: niche content to grow, especially in the

Internet of Things, wearable tech, foreign-policy

and, of course, fashion.

Expect large media companies to create

partnerships and internal endeavors to launch

niche/specialized content divisions.

Companies to Watch

Into The Gloss Media REDEF

The Nerdist Ambrosia For Heads

Niche Content

Past

Future

Companies to Watch

Flashtalking Spongecell

Kite

Media and data are already aligned with automated/programmatic platforms to deliver efficiencies. Next up, creative needs to get there.

Look for: the emergence of firms that will manage processes/technologies, allowing for the mass generation of online creative assets. Creative will be developed based on the rate of performance within a particular campaign – and executed at price points less then what marketers are used to paying at big brand creative shops.>

The great work of creative firms won’t go away –this will just open up another budget for below the line creative.

Programmatic Creative

This is a easy one: supply and demand; margins and

growth. The leading telcos all vie for the same

customers and can only reduce unlimited data plans

by so much…

Look for: wireless carriers to subsidize music apps.

This means services like Pandora, Spotify, Google

Music and others to be provided to "consumers at

no cost."

Companies to Watch

T-Mobile Sprint

Pandora Spotify

Subsidized Music / Apps

SPVAs are already in the marketplace on

platforms like Google, Apple, and the recently-

announced Amazon Echo. These features

enable devices to serve as assistants providing

instructions, directions, movie tickets, the

ability to queue content, and much more.

Look for: Amazon to expand Echo beyond a

household stand-alone device, and for all auto

manufacturers to align with at least one

service. I also expect Wi-Fi home speaker

companies (potentially Sonos) to launch with

the SVPA embedded in their models.

Companies to Watch

Sonos Amazon

Google Apple

SVPA /or Smart Virtual Personal Assistants

Okay so it's not really the tri-corder but we're

getting close to it. With the emergence of

break through devices that are able to give us

deep read of our bio-data without having to

draw blood. This data will be sent back to

your mobile phones or to a centralized

service provider via Wi-Fi.

Look for: services providing analytics,

monitoring and recommendations about

healthcare, diet and behavior on a

subscription basis.

Companies to Watch

Google Apple

Scanadu Cue.me

Med-Tech Subscription

An Annual Report by Donnovan Andrewsdonnovan@rethinkmedia.comTwitter: @donnovana