Archive for Trends
Social gaming soon to be a $1 Billion industry
If you are a software development entrepreneur, the hottest trend in the next few years appears to be the gaming industry for social media platforms.
I’ve not played too many games on social media, but I know a lot of people who do. And this year social gaming is predicted to become a $1 Billion industry.
That’s according to a new study from eMarketer. The group says more than 62 million Internet users in the United States — that’s almost a third of us — will play at least one game on a social network each month this year. That’s a huge surge from last year, when only a tenth of us used social media gaming to pass the time.
Check out the article and some very interesting statistics here. One thing the study does not touch on is the increase in mobile phone apps for gamers.
Top ten consumer trends for 2011
I am an avid follower of consumer trends, and I advise my clients to be as well.
Here is a terrific video I found on YouTube from JWT. It has several interesting elements I found particularly comforting, like the fact that human downtime and relationships still matter even as we become more and more attached to technology. (There’s even a mini-trend to de-tech!)
Comments are always welcomed! I’d love to hear your thoughts.
Media trends in emerging markets
Media in emerging markets is changing the way people in what we often call “third-world nations’ consume technology. I’m seeing some of the major trends mimic what we’ve experienced in the United States, while other media trends seem to be going in a different track.
An article titled Global Media Habits 2010, by Greg Lindsay, shows us how different types of media are being consumed around the globe, from television to newspapers to cell phones.
Among the trends is this fact: Even the most poor nations consider television a necessity. Lindsay writes,
In 2010, nearly half of Indian households have TV, up from less than one-third in 2001. But in urban areas, that figure jumps to 96%. (Compare that to 7% of Indians who use the internet.) In Kenya, the TV-penetration rate rose from roughly 60% to 70% from 2005 to 2009, even as the number of households measured increased by nearly half. Even in the slums of Sao Paulo, TVs are the top seller of Brazilian retail chain Casas Bahia, despite the fact that residents tend not to have electricity or running water.
Another interesting trend is in newspaper consumption. We know that in the U.S. newspaper circulation is declining, but not so in the rest of the world where the newspaper business is booming. There are 44 percent more paid dailys in India, with Asia, Africa and Latin America not far behind.
Facebook is another big media demand in emerging markets. Facebook’s user base is 517 million people, 70% of whom live outside the U.S. Interestingly, these users follow brands just as much as American users do:
According to a DDB study of 1,642 international Facebook users, the average self-avowed fan is 31 years old and follows nine brands. Three-quarters (76%) have already pressed “like” to signal they are a fan of a brand. In return, they expect special treatment (95%) and are willing to advocate for the brand if necessary (94%).
The invention of “cyber cafés” has been instrumental in online usage in emerging markets. But while access costs are often too high for the poorest of people to afford, cell phone costs are very reasonable, especially among the up and coming generation.
Does your business have Klout?
What’s your “Klout Score?” It’s a question you’ll hear more and more often in the months to come.
One of the social media trends for 2011 continues to be the gathering and leveraging of opinions. Not just opinions of those who like one brand over another, but of those who are so influential as to change the minds of the folks who very well could be your new customers.
Klout, a network that allows users track the impact of opinions, is becoming a powerful tool for companies who want to collect large amounts of data about how people interact with their brands, services, products and overall image. You can use this tool to identify key influencers and keep track of their online influence.
Here’s an interesting case study from a few months back: Virgin America used Klout to hand-pick a key group of influencers and then took them on a free flight to Toronto–their newest destination—from either San Francisco or Los Angeles.
What did the airline company ask in return? Nothing but a simple online acknowledgement – good or bad – about the flight they had just received. Of course the recipients blogged, tweeted and posted their good fortune and even now the ROI is producing great results!
From Pies to Popsicles: 14 Food and Restaurant Trends in 2011
Have you had enough of cupcakes already? Last year we saw gourmet cupcake shops and mail-order sites pop up all over the place, and consumers gobbled this trend up. But it’s over, and in 2011, pies are the new cupcakes. (One popular restaurant in New York City is sponsoring a “Pie Happy Hour” featuring specialty pies like whiskey-buttermilk, apple-cheddar and more!)
Do a search of Food and Restaurant industry trends for 2011, and you’ll see hundreds of hot trends from forecasters around the globe. I’ve put together a list of what I think are the most interesting predictions:
An increase in Mom and Pop shops. A growing number of people are following their dreams and financing their own unique family restaurants.
One-item restaurants. Like gourmet burgers, many restaurants are opening with one menu item and building on that. Look for hot dog restaurants, grilled cheese restaurants — you get the idea.
Mini everything. Mini is the 2011 buzzword it seems. Look for mini plates, mini portions, mini desserts and more, thanks to our shrinking budgets.
Hearth-healthy. The emphasis is on whole foods and healthy preparation techniques, like using wood-fired ovens.
Smoking. Cigarettes are still banned, but you’ll see more smoke flavoring in your food, such as smoked olive oil, cumin and butter.
Kumquats. Most people didn’t know what a pomegranate was until a few years ago. Look for Kumquats to be the new “it” fruit in salads, relishes and desserts.
Honey. Many chefs are developing partnerships with local beekeepers and using honey in their unique dressings and dishes.
Neck. You’ll find more parts of the animal being used to create dishes. Look for lamb, beef, goat and pork neck on the menu.
Bellies. Like necks, goat and lamb bellies are appearing on more menus in 2011.
Coconut. This flavor is increasing its popularity, and more consumers will ask for it in their coffee and desserts as well as in main dishes.
High-end junk food. Look for creative chefs to add their unique spin to our favorite comfort junk like cheese puffs, chips and beef sticks.
Gourmet popsicles. Forget cherry and grape. Look for carrot, beef and sugar-snap pea treats on a stick.
And my favorite quirky trend: Dirt! Some chefs are ditching sauces and instead using dried or powdered ingredients to add texture and flavor. One chef is planning on opening a Noma restaurant in San Francisco this month using dishes like his sister restaurant in Denmark: Toasted malt dirt-covered radishes, anyone?
Crowdsourcing for bright ideas: Lessons learned from GE
Happy New Year’s Eve! On this last day of 2010, I’m looking back at where we started and finished in our own innovation projects and how we accomplished our goals. How did you do in that respect? Did you notice any trends that can help your business in 2011?
One of the bigger trends of course is our quest to understand how social media can grow and expand our business. I’ve noticed that this past year many more companies have used social media in their pursuit of useful ideas than ever before. I enjoyed reading a report from Greener World Media about crowdsourcing when it comes to sustainability projects.
The article looks at three efforts by GE’s Smart Grid challenge, eBay’s Green Team, and a leading European retailer’s green customer foray and how those leaders used crowdsourcing to generate sustainability ideas. Check it out.
One example that stood out to me was this summer’s “GE ecomagination Challenge: Powering the Grid.”The company and other firms spent $200 million to grab ideas from society via a new website. Nearly 4,000 ideas were submitted over a three-month period, and at the end there were more than 70,000 comments to sift through. GE held a contest for the best ideas and announced the winners earlier this month.
If you want to try something similar, the article suggests three rules to make your campaign successful:
1. Be painfully clear about the results you want from your campaign.
2. Embrace transparency.
3. Link the campaign to co-value creation.
In GE’s case, it asked participants to send forth their best thinking to create initiatives that would enhance an aspect of their own lives. Making it personal was the evident key in this crowdsourcing experiment.
2011 Consumer Trends: How will we shape innovation?
From healthier choices to improved relationships, we all want the things we buy to make our world a better place. How are we as consumers going to shape the coming year for companies striving for innovation success?
There are dozens of consumer trends we’re watching for 2011, and soon you’ll see some brand new lists of projections from the futurists and news articles about how corporations need to adjust and embrace these new trends.
One particularly interesting list I found on Consumertrendwatching.com covers everything from pricing, coupons and country of origin to how kind we are to our customers. Check it out and let me know which ones resonate with you: (more…)
Trend: Will your retirees take their learnings with them?
I read an interesting article over at InventionMachineBlog about a trend we’re seeing as our workforce ages. Did you know that half of our workforce today is eligible for retirement in the next 18 months?
The Bureau of Labor Statistics says as our US labor force grows older, our percent of 55+ workers will be four times that of the overall labor force.
I see this happening in the corporations of many of our Innovationedge clients and certainly in many of our Fortune 500 companies. It’s projected to be the largest generational turnover we’ve ever seen in our job force.But hopefully those companies are heeding the statistics and making sure their retiring Baby boomers aren’t taking their years of knowledge and subject matter expertise with them.
What does this mean for companies continuing their focus on growth and innovation? How is your company retaining knowledge and capturing best practices for future generations?
Photo courtesy NasaImages.org
A lesson in eco-friendly modular classrooms
The latest trends in the classroom are actually the classrooms themselves. Our student population is increasing, making it necessary to expand the learning spaces. Now administrators are looking at some eco-friendly options that cost just a fraction of the traditional brick and mortar add-ons.
Many of these new kit-style classrooms can save up to 30 percent in materials costs. One builder says its structures are about $40 to $50 per square feet as opposed to new construction at $250 to $300 per square foot. And they’re actually quicker and easier to construct. Modular classroom contractors say there is typically a two- to -four-month install time.
Many contractors turn the project into a lesson in green technology, as students learn why a greener school is better for their community and the environment. Some of these classrooms are said to generate enough solar energy to be 100 percent sustainable. Check out Project Frog classrooms in San Francisco and the Gen7 from American Modular Systems.
At the moment most of these schools are being built in southern climates like California and Florida. But some in the U.K. are able to withstand cooler temps. No doubt we’ll be seeing more of these eco-friendly moduals coming to school as the younger population increases.
(Photo courtesy of American Modular Systems)