2015 Tech Predictions

1. 2015 Tech
Predictions
An Annual Report by
Donnovan Andrews
V 1.2

2. Anonymous Features
Social 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

3. 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 OVERVIEW
http://www.slideshare.net/donnovanandrews/beacon-technology-overview

4. 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

5. 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

6. 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

7. *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

8. 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

9. 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

10. 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

11. 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

12. 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

13. 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

14. 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

15. 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

16. 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

17. 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

18. 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

19. 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

20. An Annual Report by
Donnovan Andrews
donnovan@rethinkmedia.com
Twitter: @donnovana