2010 is a wrap, moving forward where would you like to see technology go in 2011?

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10 Technlogy and Internet predictions for 2011

2010 was the Social Media explosion. Instead of focusing on search engine optimisation (SEO), in 2011 we’ll see social media optimisation becoming a priority as businesses continue to see ’social’ close the gap on referrals to their sites. That’s not to say you can ignore SEO (in fact if you don’t know what you are doing you should enroll on our SEO Training course in Brighton, Sussex) but that you will need Social Media to compete in business.

2) Advertisers will harness Social commerce

Complete strangers will start coming together to benefit from massive bulk-buying schemes, and advertisers will find a way to capitalise on this trend. Google has already recognized this trend and a deal to collaborate was turned down by Groupon earlier this year. Only two years old, Groupon is now a one-billion dollar company with hundreds of employees.

Groupon is leading the way but many more brands will emerge in this sphere over the coming year.

3) Leaks and espionage

WikiLeaks has taken centre stage this year, although this is just the beginning. Somehow in 2011 founder Julian Assange will be prosecuted for his role in disseminating classified documents. But even if WikiLeaks itself gets shut down something else will take its place, everyone demands a voice and the internet makes that possible, so expect lots of WikiLeaks style sites to pop up and hit the headlines. They will be bigger and better.

4) Mobile Payments and Near field communications (NFC)

Near field communication chips are nothing new but we predict that their time is now. Your mobile phone will become your credit card. The NFC mobile-payment application is currently in trials in the United States, Germany, Finland, the Netherlands and a few other countries, with transportation ticketing as a primary use. Google’s Nexus S already includes this technology, and rumours are that Apple’s new iPhone will follow.

5) Location-based apps become even more popular.

Whilst Foursquare and Facebook pages are nothing new, people are becoming more comfortable sharing where they are indiscriminately with complete strangers. It is becoming just too attractive to be able to “check in” to unlock discounts and participate in competitions for the “checked in”.

6) IPTV

In the UK there has been an explosion of digital TV services being delivered over a Broadband Internet connection , including  BBC iPlayer, BT Vision, Virgin’s On Demand service, Sky Anytime+, Seesaw and YouView.

The drive for digital TV has been driven in the UK by the release of YouView, timetabled for launch by mid 2011 and is expected to be the ‘next generation’ of Freeview. TV schedules can go backwards as well as forwards in time. This will be the hottest technology shift during 2011, with Google TV soon to arrive in the UK.

7) Privicy Issues will get serious

I know this is in the news all the time, so much so that we are all getting a bit blasé about the threat. Sooner or later a huge social network – probably Facebook, will accidently share everyone’s information with everyone. Already with a simple hack, everything listed in a person’s “Basic Information” section is visible, no matter what their privacy settings are. This information includes networks, sex, birthday, hometown, siblings, parents, relationship status, interested in, looking for, political views and religious views.

With Social Networking exploding advertisers have only just scratched the surface of what is possible. Despite the complex issues of privacy social networks such as Facebook will find ways of capitalising on the fact that users are sharing huge amounts of information. We are not the consumers – all the information these sites have about us is a priceless commodity.

8) Tablets become Mainstream Business and Social Tools

With the introduction of a camera and mic to the IPad or Google android tablet video conferencing will become ever more popular.  Prices will come down and tablets will be as commonplace as laptops.

9) Your body will be your games controller

Nintendo Wii started the ball rolling and took the world by storm down to the motion-controlled gaming interface which put players inside games for the first time. Now Microsoft Kinect for Xbox 360 takes centre stage, your body is the controller. Kinect games and apps use the camera and microphone to work out what you’re doing and what you’re saying, and to interpret your commands in the appropriate fashion.

10) Chips with everything

Again not a new concept but this trend will accelerate throughout 2011. Every device, from your television, phone or  fridge can have a web address. Home automation will allow lights, energy heating and more to be controlled remotely. The technology is now widely available and affordable. A bit worrying though – what happens when your internet connection gets disconnected? Read more at www.siliconbeachtraining.co.uk

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