Top Trends of 2012: The Consumer Cloud - by Read Write Web

In 2012 we've seen amazing growth in the Consumer Cloud, meaning cloud computing for everyday users. There are three main categories in the Consumer Cloud: storage, sync, and notes. Dropbox, Apple's iCloud and Evernote (respectively) have been the most impressive performers in each category so far this year. Note that the cloud - a.k.a. the Internet - is of course the backend of many a popular consumer app. Flickr, Gmail and even Facebook all store your content in the cloud. But what we're talking about here are services that allow you to store and manage files in the cloud. Online file management is the key feature and you (the consumer) are fully aware that your files are being stored on the Web. Cheap hardware and virtualization have been the main drivers of this trend. In 2012, there are three main types of Consumer Cloud services: Online storage: Dropbox is the leading brand in this category, despite competing with heavyweights like Google Drive, Microsoft SkyDrive, Amazon Cloud Drive, Box.net and others. Online sync: iCloud enables Apple users to easily sync their media across devices. So far music is the battleground in this category, although it will eventually extend to other types of media (like videos). iTunes Match allows iTunes users to sync their music collection across devices, using iCloud. Competitors include Google Music and Spotify. Online notes: Evernote is the leading player in this niche; it really has no peers. You may use different products, depending on your preferred computing platform. For example many of you will use Microsoft's SkyDrive, as you're Windows users. Or you may prefer Spotify to sync your music, because of the other benefits it offers (the ability to stream almost any music, even if you don't own it). But whatever your personal setup, I'd wager you're using all three of these product categories more now than 6-12 months ago. I know for sure that I am. Evernote is probably my most-used web app, outside of the obvious daily services like email and calendar. My usage of Evernote has increased markedly this year, as I've moved from making notes in paper notebooks to inputting virtually everything into Evernote. It's helped my planning and self-organization immensely, knowing I can input and access notes across computers, tablet and smartphone. My usage of Dropbox, ReadWriteWeb's Best LittleCo of 2011, has also increased in 2012. I use it mainly for storing business files, so I can access them on whatever device I'm using. Others use Dropbox to store their photos, or to share music, or to send large documents to colleagues, or anything else involving files in this multi-device era. However Dropbox faces more challenges than Evernote, because it has serious competition. In particular, Google and Microsoft. In April this year Google launched Google Drive - which directly competes with Dropbox as an online file storage solution. Google Drive is basically a file system for Google Docs. Microsoft's SkyDrive has similar functionality. Also Amazon launched Amazon Cloud Drive in early May, but it isn't as good as its competitors. Like NPR's All Songs Considered host Bob Boilen, this year I took the step of moving my music collection to iTunes Match. Although I didn't go as far as Boilen, who deleted over 25,000 songs from his iTunes library. Boilen, whose whole life revolves around music, wrote that he's going to "trust in the cloud, where my library now lives." Here is Boilen's description of what iTunes Match does exactly: "Before I deleted the songs, the service scanned my music library, "matched" all the music that is available in the iTunes store, and uploaded what isn't. Now, my entire library is accessible from anywhere I can get a wireless Internet or cell phone signal. Another benefit: since I used to rip my music at 128kbps, much of my "library" now sounds better, since Apple's songs are encoded at 256kbps. It doesn't matter if the original was purchased from Amazon's mp3 store, ripped from a CD, downloaded from a friend or obtained illegally — I now have a legit 256kbps version." I'm using iTunes Match too now and I've found that it makes it easier to manage my music collection across (Apple) devices. It takes a bit of getting used to downloading your files from the Internet, rather than plugging in a USB cord to transfer between devices. But the benefits - such as getting more up-to-date and potentially higher quality "matched" files from iTunes - outweigh any issues. The common theme here is that cloud computing has reached the consumer market in a big way now. If you're not using Dropbox, Evernote and iTunes Match (or any of their competitors), you are missing out on hassle-free online storage, a totally new way to organize your notes, and easy content sync across devices. It's 2012, welcome to the Consumer Cloud era. Follow this trend home at http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/top-trends-of-2012-the-consumer-cloud.php

5 Digital Trends Shaping the Consumer Experience - Mashable

1. Visual Thinking Visual thinking — the use and exploration of images as tools for communication — began as a trend in education in an attempt to improve learning and retention. Over the past decade it has evolved and been adopted as a strategy tool for marketers and management firms to help clients find answers to complex problems and map out their solutions via large-scale visuals. The process can be applied to any subject matter and used to assist and augment improvement in any audience or demographic. Currently, the most comprehensive and impressive visual thinking work has been constructed by London-based firm, Group Partners. Group Partners’ progressive approach allows solutions to be co-created with the client through the application of its business equation. “Co-creation, visualization, and logical structure applied to the important conversations in your business will transform the way you think and act, and quickly,” says said John Caswell, founder of Group Partners. The company has applied this technique to more than 2,500 businesses and governments, including Coca-Cola, Estee Lauder, Rolls-Royce, and The BBC. The framework can be used to solve any problem or develop value based on any business question. As the world moves towards thinking in pictures and processing information through graphics, the use of visual thinking is becoming more compelling. 2. The New Aesthetic The term new aesthetic was coined by James Bridle, a London-based writer and “technologist.” It refers to the blurring of digital and real. In September 2011, The Future Laboratory and Campaign explored the blurring digital and real-life experiences in retail via a Sweet Shoppe. The Sweet Shoppe — set up as an installation during London Design Festival — was turned into a hyper-real, personalized and technology-enabled production that let guests see, smell, touch, and taste the retail experience. For example, on arrival, guests were taken on a 20-minute curated personal journey to determine their perfect sweet. Without question, this version of the Sweet Shoppe was created to appeal to the consumers of the future who will have no recollection of life without the internet, will not distinguish between the real and digital worlds, and will seek experiences that seamlessly integrate the online and the offline. Currently, the new aesthetic remains fragmented and extremely hard to put into a coherent example that would allow a marketer to grasp its full potential. But, because the subject matter of aesthetics relates to how beauty is perceived and valued by us as humans, retailers are making strides to test it via digital consumer experiences. One example comes from luxury retailer Louis Vuitton, who worked with Yayoi Kusama to launch the Louis Vuitton Kusama Studio iPhone application. Louis Vuitton encourages users to reinvent reality and the world through this artist’s work and transforms user photos with effects designed by Kusama. The app embraces concepts of the new aesthetic movement and provides marketers a way to grasp the full potential of the movement as an experiential marketing tactic. 3. Calm Technology Calm technology refers to applications that cut down on the digital noise of high-volume data to show the user only enough information so that he or she is able to focus on a task. Mark Weiser is considered to be the father of “ubiquitous computing,” a synonym for calm technology. The whole idea is to reduce distractions to our workflow without losing functionality. Weiser postulated that we should not be seeking to enter the virtual world by shopping in 3D environments, but that digital technology should enter our lives in such a way as to make it calmer and easier, not more distracted and disrupted, thus blurring the line between digital and real life experiences. The Facebook ticker is one example. If the Facebook newsfeed updated in real time, then it might move too quickly for the average user. But by moving real-time updates to the periphery, the user has a more calm and satisfying Facebook experience. Calm technology is also leading the growing popularity of curation and social product discovery sites such as Lyst, Mulu.Me, Buyosphere, Svpply, and Discoveredd. These sites offer a more focused stream of content than standard social networks. Moreover, the rise of interest networks, solely following someone based on similar likes and shared interest topics, is another way that calm technology has impacted user behavior. To be clear, calm technology does not necessarily jibe with marketing goals. The whole idea is to reduce the flow of information to people, not increase it. The public, however, seems to be ready for applications that will streamline the information, something marketers know has inherent value. 4. Neuromarketing Neuromarketing is a new field of marketing research that studies consumers’ cognitive response to marketing stimuli. Instead of simply using focus groups, companies are beginning to use science and higher understanding of brain function to makes websites “sticky” and manipulate consumers into purchasing their products. Neuromarketing’s premise is that consumer buying decisions are made in split seconds in the subconscious, emotional part of the brain. The ultimate goal of neuromarketing is to blow consumer minds with products they deeply desire, thus driving their purchases. The satisfaction of the purchases would incite product loyalty while allowing brands to increase their profitability and business process. Neuromarketing as a discipline came out of a study of participants in the “Pepsi Challenge,” according to a PBS report. The report states that marketers still don’t fully understand how to apply this data, but that hasn’t stop people from opening or buying agencies that offer such a service. 5. Singularity singularity is the concept that technology is on the verge of becoming smarter than humans. Once technology surpasses the human capacity to understand the world, our race will enter a new era that we literally cannot imagine because we do not have the brainpower to do so. Game theory is one of the key components in the theoretical research surrounding singularity. Marketers can make the argument that by having multiple people taking the same action at once, in ways that are deemed safe by them, they can drive massive change. According to Gartner’s 2011 study of Gamification, the opportunities for businesses range from having more engaged customers, to creating more brand narratives. When you overlay game theory with current trends marketers can start to see that singularity really is a bridge that connects the everyday and the fantastical. Follow this trend home at http://mashable.com/2012/06/21/trends-consumer-experience-economy/

Adobe Study Reveals Japan As The Most Creative Country

A recent study by Adobe has revealed Japan as the most creative country. But the Japanese and Americans do not see the Japanese as creative; Americans believe that America is the most creative. In an interview of 5,000 adults across the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, France and Japan, Tokyo is found to be the most creative city, with New York coming in second. The study also shows that 80% of people feel that unlocking creativity is critical to economic growth; but only 1 in 4 people feel like they’re living up to their own creative potential. 75% of respondents said they are under growing pressure to be productive rather than creative—the lack of time being the biggest barrier to creativity. Most of those surveyed feel that creativity is stifled by education systems, and many believe creativity is taken for granted. Do you agree with the research? IT Media has created an infographic that presents Adobe’s findings: To follow this trend home visit http://designtaxi.com/news/352332/Adobe-Study-Reveals-Japan-As-The-Most-Creative-Country/?page=1

Euromonitor International: Top 10 Consumer Trends for 2012

Today, identity also encompasses weight, online status, green thrift, and attitudes to reality culture—even in emerging markets, where the joys of spending are still being discovered. 1. City living reigns Swelling masses of urbanites with lifestyles to suit—style, tech and convenience-savvy—soak up new cultural influences that are blending with fresh brand experience-led approaches. In 2012, Euromonitor International forecasts that there will be 3.7 billion urban residents worldwide. The number of urban dwellers globally will continue to increase, both in ‘traditional’ megacities but also in new hubs. Meanwhile, a whole mass of new arrivals to cities, often falling into the so-called ‘bottom of the urban pyramid’ category, may have less disposable income but aspire to a higher consumption that will extend to more space and health cover. 2. Consumer vigilantes speak up On and offline protest is in the spotlight, pressurising brands towards greater accountability and genuine innovative responses to these engaged consumers. 3. DIY life In 2012, status becomes more than what you consume. The importance of the greater need for control over lifestyle and persona is brought into sharper relief by the financial uncertainty of recession. In this climate, non-monetary forms of status such as skills, eco-credentials, generosity and connectivity will become more of a priority. 4. Emerging market shoppers In 2012, throngs of emerging market shoppers around the world are aspiring to more consumption. Emerging market consumers are learning to rely on credit, with store cards appealing to lower income consumers with low access to banking services. Counterfeit items continue to appeal to emerging market consumers as they bring trend-led consumption lifestyles and variety within reach. Convenience has become important for the growing number of time-stripped middle class consumers. Consumers with more wealth are blending shopping with tourism as they spread their consumption wings.

5. Green thrift While frugality is celebrating all the tech-led innovations at its disposal, its marriage with sustainability is thriving. 6. Reality culture and consumers Scripted reality or celebrities living the dream—consumers are gripped, sharing views and being moved to change their purchasing behaviour. 7. Smartphone universe According to Euromonitor International data, annual smartphone sales surged from US$8.4 billion to US$83.1 billion between 2005 and 2010, with China surpassing the USA as the largest national market during 2009. Real global smartphone sales are forecast to reach US$137.4 billion in 2012. For many developed market consumers, PCs and laptops are beginning to take a backseat as most smartphone owners use these convenient devices to surf the internet and watch TV anywhere from parliaments to buses. 8. Tech lifestyles versus slow living and the best of both For the 2012 consumer—from toddlers upwards, technology is part of life with a lot of simultaneous tech consumption. Access to the internet has extended to accompany people as they go about their daily lives, at work and on holiday. We’re moving into a technology space where mobility is becoming less about devices, and more about the mist of data that we each generate with every interaction on the internet. Of course, there’s a backlash: a vocal population of consumers who critique today’s over-reliance on technology, virtual lives and fixation on various screens. There are also some interesting fusions of tech-led and ‘slow’ lifestyles that are impacting on buying behaviour. For instance, Chinese e-commerce giant Taobao’s launch of a ‘try-out’ home furnishings store in Beijing to overcome the local need to examine major purchases in person.

9. Youth—future imperfect Young consumers are facing up to a different, less predictable reality in terms of purchasing aspirations, work, living set-ups and role models. 10. Weight as a hot topic In 2012, the spotlight on weight is just part of a renewed public awareness of what we eat, body image, exercise and general health. Indeed, Euromonitor International’s Annual Study 2011 finds that respondents globally rank good health as the most important determinant of happiness (even if awareness that health is important doesn’t always lead to healthy living). Young respondents to Euromonitor International’s Global Youth Survey claim to skip meals two or more days a week—particularly breakfast. In the 15 leading youth markets, one-third of 16-24 year olds claim to be trying to lose weight. Read the full version of Euromonitor Intenational article here. Or follow this trend home at http://popsop.com/54784

Barbie Brand Goes Bald and Political

Barbie, Mattel’s iconic model of curvaceous, blonde female beauty will very soon be bald. Next year, Barbie's world of dream houses, beauty salons and fancy cars will include chemotherapy. A Facebook campaign titled "Beautiful and Bald Barbie" initiated by Jane Bingham, a young survivor of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, asked Mattel to create a doll for kids who have lost their hair due to cancer or other medical reasons. "One of the major reasons was to reduce the stigma for women and children who have hair loss — being not accepted to be able to go out in public without something covering their head, whether it be a wig or a scarf or that sort of thing," Bingham says. "Their beauty and their self-worth is not dependent upon their hair." Mattel's initial response was cool: “Mattel doesn’t accept ideas from outside sources.” But after the campaign drew 158,000 likes and fans on social media recalled other Mattel initiatives like Tattoo Barbie, the toymaker relented, announcing the creation of the new (Friend of) Barbie doll by 2013. The toy comes accessorized with wigs, hats and scarves "to provide girls with a traditional fashion play experience" said Mattel spokesman Alan Hilowitz. Critics lamented Mattel's slow response. If they'd listened to their best customers, “they’d be happily driving their pink Beach Cruiser into the hearts, minds, and wallets of consumers. Instead, they minimized their opportunity to do social good and to do good by their community. It’s a cautionary tale that reinforces the need for brands to be nimble and seize the day, when your consumer knocks on your Dream House door.” It’s a substantial but incomplete victory. For now, Bald Barbie will only be distributed in the US and Canada through the Children's Hospital Association, CureSearch for Children's Cancer and the National Alopecia Areata Foundation. Bingham is fighting to get the dolls sold in stores. Meanwhile, competitor toy-maker MGA has announced "True Hope" Bratz and Moxie Girlz dolls launching in June at Toys "R" Us stores. For each doll sold, MGA will donate $1 to City of Hope for cancer research. Meanwhile, with better (political) timing, Mattel is about to release the new 2012 Barbie I Can Be President doll, campaigning to occupy the "Pink House," on the "B Party" ticket in a "glam-paign,” calling for girls to "B inspired," "B informed" and "B involved." Aspirant Barbie’s campaign uniform is a pink power suit with patriotic red, white and blue lining on her ruffled jacket, designed by Chris Benz -- who has dressed real First Lady Michelle Obama. Mattel’s “I Can Be …” franchise comes in Caucasian, African American, Asian and Hispanic editions, encouraging girls to follow their aspirations. "The Barbie brand's career-focused line of I Can Be… dolls often shine a pink spotlight on professions that are historically underrepresented by women," said Mattel Girls' Brands US marketing VP Cathy Cline. Barbie's social media-savvy campaign is launching online at Barbie2012.com with official Instagram and Tumblr channels, and will actively communicate with her four million fans and followers on Facebook, Twitter and Foursquare. The Barbie I Can Be…President doll is available for pre-orders at mattelshop.com. But perhaps most significantly, for the first time in 53 years, this Barbie doll will be able to literally stand on her own two feet – unaided, due to a pair of weighted platform shoes. To follow this trend homw visit http://www.brandchannel.com/home/post/Barbie-Brand-Goes-Bald-and-Political.aspx

11 Digital Predictions For 2011 By Duncan Southgate, Courtesy of Contagious

What's next for apps, search, display, gaming and privacy in 2011. Millward Brown's Futures Group's global innovation director identifies the hottest digital trends for 2011

1 / Brands will juggle their presence in the Splinternet.
The internet will continue to splinter into a public open web and semi-walled gardens, as surfing the web is often replaced by running apps or viewing pages on Facebook. Applications and fan pages are popular because they allow marketers to control and simplify consumer interactions. However, brands will increasingly need to tend multiple 'gardens', often building different applications for specific platforms to ensure they are both relevant and present everywhere their consumers want to encounter them.

2 / Evolution of online shopping as augmented reality technologies bridge intangibility gap.
Despite some remaining fears around disclosure of personal information, online shopping will continue to grow strongly. Many countries will follow the US in their enthusiastic uptake of collective buying services like Groupon. Fuelled by their love of a bargain, there are currently more than 500 of these sites in China, though many are expected to fade into obscurity. In the UK, mobile shopping apps will be particularly popular, while in India we expect to see growth in online travel ticket purchasing that helps consumers bypass long queues at stations. Globally we also expect brands to use innovative new technologies, including augmented reality, to help bridge the 'intangibility gap' that exists because consumers can't touch and feel a product they purchase online.

3 / Online display explodes out of its box.
Marketers will increasingly attempt to deliver immersive and engaging branding messages within the ad itself, using expandable formats and interactive features which often replicate part of the experience of a microsite or social media page. In line with this, display formats are constantly transforming and many new formats are growing in popularity including: double-teaming, where planners combine multiple formats on the same page; social titbits where banners include a taste of live social activity such as a Twitter feed; and slide-up formats, which use small but intriguing imagery to capture attention, and then expand to take over larger portions of the screen.

4 / Viral video is no longer an afterthought.
Viral potential is now an increasingly important element of digital campaign planning. More readily available viral measurements - such as Millward Brown's viral potential pre-test and Kantar Video's in-market tracking - allow marketers to better plan, monitor and adjust accordingly. However, as each new viral hit raises the bar of consumer expectation, advertisers may need to be more distinctive than ever. To counter this, more advertisers will promote their ads in a viral environment, particularly since our recent YouTube research shows that paid online promotion generates a 'free' incremental viral bonus over and above the paid views.

5 / More 'made for web' video content.
With online video advertising spend in a high growth phase, marketers globally are likely to invest more effort optimising their online video creative in 2011. Dynamic Logic research has shown that repurposed TV ads can effectively generate awareness, but made-for-web video tends to be better at driving persuasion.

6 / More mobile eyeballs.
The improved performance capabilities of mobile devices mean that more people are online, more of the time (there is almost a 'presumption of connectedness'). Marketers will seize this opportunity, particularly since newer devices enable better mobile ad experiences. Mobile advertising budgets will increase significantly over 2010 and the brand impact achieved from mobile will continue to out-perform online through 2011.

7 / Brands find their places with geo-location.
Today, geo-location is all about 'checking in', but 2011 will provide a more rewarding experience once the user has checked in, and we also expect to see a development in "check out" features (e.g. suggestions of where to go next). We also expect to see growth in apps such as Shopkick that automatically award points/promotions upon entering a store. The arrival of Facebook Places alongside services such as Foursquare means that more brands will use location as an app feature, as a communication platform, a fan page feature or as the key to a deal, possibly tied in with loyalty card data. Brands which don't have locations of their own will seek out appropriate tie-ups.

8 / Search: increasing personal, mobile and impactful.
Consumers will trade privacy for relevance. Links with social media profiles, search history and behavioural segmentation will allow greater search relevance for users prepared to share this information with search engine providers. Mobile search will make further gains as developers take full advantage of the unprecedented breadth of information available and consumers realise the benefit of searching via applications such as Google Maps. Search results will also become more visually impactful, increasing the need for marketers to understand the brand impact of search.

9 / Gaming on the move.
The recent launches of Sony's Move and Microsoft's Kinect have breathed new life into the Playstation and Xbox consoles, and will drive further innovation in game design during 2011. Meanwhile, casual gaming, driven strongly by the capabilities of Apple's iphone and ipod touch, is likely to grow further as these gamers continue to feed their app-snacking habits, and developers take full advantage of the larger ipad interface. Growth in the use of social games is also likely assuming developers such as Zynga can build on the success of FarmVille and Mafia Wars. Research from Dynamic Logic has revealed that brands can benefit from in-game branding where it's seen to be relevant, and we predict this to be a growth area in 2011.

10 / Social graphs will make targeting more relevant.
Relevant social integration can delight consumers. A recent Firefly Millward Brown study has revealed that people are looking for brands in social media to be more relevant to their needs. Consumers will remain active in the biggest social network (Facebook) because so many contacts are there, but they may increasingly be more engaged in other niche networks that play to their particular interests. Facebook's scale provides excellent targeting opportunities for brands, but to really be effective, sophisticated algorithms are needed to make sense of the complex relationships between people.

11 / The battle for online privacy will intensify.
Marketers will make progress on the development of online transparency frameworks as consumers are increasingly empowered to look under the hood. They will avoid regulatory measures to protect online privacy by enabling users to manage their own profiles and by being clearer about their data models. Despite these efforts however, the battle will continue between regulators and the industry about the scope of personal information which forms the building blocks of online identity.

Illustration Credit / Crush / AgencyRush

To follow these trends home visit http://www.contagiousmagazine.com/2011/01/11_digital_predictions_for_2011.php

Insanely Social

Zuckerberg's email spawns a few stats which nicely express our continuous trend towards digitalisation;

■ There are now more than 500 million active Facebook users, with 50% logging on to the site on any given day. Worldwide, users collectively spend 700 billion minutes a month on Facebook.

■ Google's email service Gmail ended July with 186 million worldwide users, a 22% increase from the same time a year ago. Both Microsoft's Windows Hotmail (nearly 346 million users) and Yahoo's email (303 million users) are larger, but aren't growing as rapidly.

■ As of September, Twitter, which launched in 2006, had 175 million registered users posting an estimated 95 million tweets each day.

■ There are now more than five billion mobile phone connections worldwide. In many regions, penetration exceeds 100%, meaning more than one connection per person. Research earlier this year found that teenagers in American now use text as their main method of communication, with more than 30% of US teens sending more than 100 texts a day.

■ More than 25% of the UK's population – some 16 million people – accessed the internet from mobile phones in December 2009. Nearly half those total minutes online via mobile devices were spent at Facebook Mobile – 2.2bn minutes out of 4.8bn – with Google on 400m in a very distant second.

To follow this trend home head to http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/nov/21/facebook-email-instant-messaging-zuckerberg