2012 will be the year of the multimedia social network. Photo and video based social interaction will grow. Given that the camera on your smartphone is almost as good as your actual camera, the multimedia driven social networks are here to stay and will be an emerging force . . . → Read More: Technology Trend Predictions for 2012 – Travel and Beyond]]> Growth of Photo and Video Social Networks

2012 will be the year of the multimedia social network.  Photo and video based social interaction will grow.  Given that the camera on your smartphone is almost as good as your actual camera, the multimedia driven social networks are here to stay and will be an emerging force for brands in 2012.

Convergence Emergence (Traditional and Social) 

Marketing campaigns will increasingly integrate social with real life.  For example, as part of a recent campaign, Dominos Pizza posted unfiltered feedback on a large billboard in Times Square, bringing together real opinions from real people pulled from a digital source.  These types of trans-media experiences are likely to define social in the year to come.

Social Sharing

Ideas, opinions, media and status updates are all part of what makes social media a powerful and often disruptive force. The media industry was one of the first to understand this, adding sharing options to content, which led to more page views and better status in search results. What comes next in social sharing is more closely aligned with e-commerce or web transactions.  Sharing that holiday that you’ve just booked, or recommending a product, or service from any site to a social network is where sharing goes next.

Outsourcing Content Creation

Content will play a bigger role as social media becomes more mainstream.  However, stretched marketing teams will struggle with adding content creation to their already full plates.  Marketers will therefore need to find a sustainable model for continually creating new content, which may include more outsourcing.  As social media matures, efficiency will become an increasingly important factor.

The Cult of Influence

In much the same way that Google has defined a system that rewards those who produce findable content, there is a race on to develop a system that will reward those who wield the most social influence. To some degree everyone now has some digital influence (not just celebrities, academics, policy makers or those who sway public opinion). But for the next year, the cult of influence becomes more about the tools and techniques professionals use to “score” digital influence and actually harness, scale and measure the results of it.

Gamification

The trend in online games, already popular in the entertainment industry, is set to extend to the travel industry according to recent research.  The WTM Global Trends Report 2011 reveals the ‘gamification of travel’ is already taking hold with companies and tourism organisations including Lufthansa and Tourism Ireland using gaming techniques to create brand awareness and build loyalty.

Last year Tourism Ireland unveiled its Ireland Town game on Facebook giving it the potential to engage with more than 62 million people.  Campaigns such as ‘Nothing Like Australia’ encouraged Australians to upload a photo and share their holiday experiences with the world.  The experiences were than used to create an interactive map.  According to Gartner, by 2015 more than 70% of Forbes Global 200 companies will have at least one gamified application.

Convergence of Social and Mobile

Gartner predicts that by the end of 2012, the number one way that consumers will be interacting with the internet is via their smartphones and tablets.Companies need to think about how existing core marketing initiatives carry through to the mobile web.  It needs to be just as easy for someone on a mobile device not only to access content but also to act on that content in a social manner ie. “Like” it, share it etc.

Sources – LinkedIn Today, www.tnooz.com and www.wtmlondon.com

Question Focus Areas:

Author: Mary Meeker, Scott Devitt, Liang Wu Morgan Stanley

download now: Ten Questions Internet Execs Should Ask and Answer (49 pages)

But Brits are lagging behind in mobile device adoption for travel with 27% of Europeans planning their trips via mobile. The survey found that 45% of Britons have . . . → Read More: Almost a quarter of Britons have used a mobile device as part of their travel planning process, a new study shows.]]> The poll of 1,300 British users of TripAdvisor found that 22% have used smartphones and other mobile devices, with researching and booking accommodation the most common activity.

But Brits are lagging behind in mobile device adoption for travel with 27% of Europeans planning their trips via mobile. The survey found that 45% of Britons have used a mobile device to research their trip while in their destination, compared to 53% of European respondents.

Of those Brits who plan travel on their mobile device 29% have booked or researched accommodation, 27% have researched destinations, 26% have read traveller reviews, 23% have researched restaurants and 18% have booked or researched flights. Almost half have used mobile devices to plan and research their trip on arrival at their destination.

For those respondents who use their mobile device while travelling, 29% researched restaurants, 28% checked their flight status, 21% researched attractions, 18% researched accommodation and 16% researched tours, according to the poll.

But roaming charges remain the biggest barrier to using mobile devices when on overseas holidays. The greatest frustrations for British travellers when using a mobile device while travelling are roaming fees and sporadic connectivity.

The study found that 39% of British respondents have a travel app installed on their mobile device. A TripAdvisor spokeswoman said: “As mobile, tablet and smartphone use increases at breakneck speed, the way travellers plan their trips is fundamentally changing.

“We’re seeing phenomenal growth in the number of travellers planning their holidays – both before they leave and during their trip – on mobile devices. Whether travellers are looking for the nearest attractions or top-rated restaurants, these findings show that smartphones and tablets are an increasingly important travel companion”.

article from New Mind

More Americans Are On Facebook Than Have A Passport

Posted: 22 Jul 2011 08:27 PM PDT

To celebrate the fact that my vacation during the last two weeks of August has been officially confirmed (!), I am posting the most massive infographic I have ever seen: “The Social . . . → Read More: The social revolution…]]> A nice post from TechCrunch:

More Americans Are On Facebook Than Have A Passport

Posted: 22 Jul 2011 08:27 PM PDT

To celebrate the fact that my vacation during the last two weeks of August has been officially confirmed (!), I am posting the most massive infographic I have ever seen: “The Social Travel Revolution” brought to you by the folks at still-in-beta travel startup Tripl.

Most shocking statistic: 50% of all Americans are on Facebook (155 million) while only 37% of Americans have a passport (115 million). To its credit, the Facebook onboarding process is a lot more streamlined.

The page shows the number of friends in common, along with photos, messages on their walls, events in which the two people both attended together, and the pages they both like.

Everything . . . → Read More: The Facebook friendship trick]]> The Facebook friendship page is a (secret?!) function that allows you to discover what two specific users have shared and have in common.

The page shows the number of friends in common, along with photos, messages on their walls, events in which the two people both attended together, and the pages they both like.

Everything is shown in chronological order, just like a profile.

To display the page of friendship simply type the following URL:

http://www.facebook.com/ID Facebook 1?and=ID Facebook 2