That Was So Last Year…

Remember when we used to compare things to “last century”?  How about when we started to compare things to “last decade’?  But even that became too long of a time frame, so we started to compare trends to “last year”.

Social media has been evolving so quickly, I can hardly keep up.  Snapchat was released in 2011, but I just heard about it a few days ago when the IPO went public.  I guess I am still living in my Flintstone cave.  I pop my head out my cave and whoa!  Venmo, WhatsApp… wait!  I am just learning what a # means.  Slow down you guys!  I can’t keep up with it all.  Maybe I shouldn’t even try.  By the time I figure it all out, it will be old news and social media won’t even exist anymore!  I like to think we are somewhere in between the Flintstones and the Jetsons.

The Future Of Social Media

So, what does the future hold? What about the future of social media?  We could probably guess that the line-up of social media platforms will continue to expand.  Twitter, Pinterest, Snapchat, Facebook, Instagram.  But beyond that, much farther in the future, will social media still be what it is today?  Let’s check in with some of the industry experts to get a glimpse of social media.

1. News keeps us current about the happenings around the world and close to home. Social media is changing the way we learn about news.  Cory Bergman, the Co-Founder of BreakingNews predicts that we will be able to see news in a “multitude of eyewitnesses streaming live video.  These streams will knit together into a single immersive video, enabling the viewer to virtually experience the event in real time.”  That sounds great!  But also, a bit scary.  Are we mentally and emotionally ready to handle this uncensored version of reality?

   

2. Brain augmentation devices and self-driving hovercrafts will transport us and allow us to read news articles simultaneously. Gregory Galan, Creator of the Shorty Awards, predicts words like “tweet”, “Instagram” and “Snapchat” will be unknown to others.   I suppose those words would get similar looks as if I said “8 track” or “baby got back” to a young person today.

   

3. We share our experiences, but imagine sharing a taste or a sensation and a smell. Take that Facebook!  Piera Gelardi, Creative Director or Refinery 29 and fan of Neuromancer and Star Trek, believes shared consciousness through an implanted device in our bodies that connect to everything around us will cause the shift from publishing to social media to socializing via social media in a virtual reality.

   

4. Keyboards, laptops, tablets, mouse. What, those old things?  Interactions on what social media will evolve to be mostly voice-controlled.  You might as well throw the smartphone out the window with the keyboard.  Holographic displays will be mainstream now.

   

5. Happy Birthday! Don’t you love when Google knows it’s your birthday? Or how Amazon stalks you around the internet with those pair of shoes you almost bought?  Otis Kimzey, from Simply Measured, believes personalized data and the way that data has decision-making power will be the biggest change in communication over the years.  It’s not the quantity, it’s the quality. Personalized content.

   

6. Go-go gadget arms!  I love inspector gadget and to think that is probably what inspires the designers at Apple is close to the truth.  Wearable social media in the gadgets that have become part of ourselves like our shoes and our glasses will make sharing a seamless and passive process.  This freaks me out.  I know many like that transparency, but I prefer the invisibility.

   

What This Future Looks Like For Us

I am not sure if this sounds exciting or scary or a combination of both.   Excitement abound, I wonder if milk can automatically get delivered to me when the implants in my eyes recognize my milk is low next time I open my refrigerator? Or maybe Seamless will deliver a hot burger to me when my body recognizes I hadn’t eaten dinner yet because I was up late writing a blog and since I frequent the burger joint on the corner, consistent with my balance in my bank account, it orders me a burger with a side of fries.  Then instead of liking and tweeting, I slip on virtual reality glasses and relax on the beach in Bora Bora with my friend in London as we share stories of our week.  The next day, I meet up with another friend of mine at an e-commerce store as our we try clothes on together on our virtual avatars.   With personalized content, I read the news on my holographic display while being driven (hovered?) to work in my self-driving hover craft.  This life sounds good.

If I can cry anonymity when I want, and I can filter and block the massive explosion of information coming at me, I think I would safely be able to enjoy this future.

Resources:

Wellons, Mary C. “11 Predictions on the Future of Social Media.” CNBC. N.p., 02 Oct. 2014. Web. 18 Mar. 2017. <http://www.cnbc.com/2014/10/02/11-predictions-on-the-future-of-social-media.html>.