2009 top 10 trends related to cross media

PICNIC has now summarized these into the top 10 PICNIC trends, in no particular order.

1. Balance - fun versus important: There was much talk about having reached saturation point in terms of sharing our lives online. Which sharing services are actually adding real value to our personal lives and take less of a chunk out of our valuable time. Most of these sites are fun but not important. 2009 will be a year for services that help people balance life and work, pleasure and profession, off-line and on-line.

2. Transparency and conversation: Some call it Feedback 3.0 or joining the conversation rather than listening quietly. Companies are being required to react not just listen to consumers. 2009 will be a year of transparency by companies and loyalty being driven by interacting/conversing with consumers.

3. Openness: More and more services online are opening up and linking with other online services, for instance in the social networking space. As companies realize they do not own people and their data, the owner of the data is the person themselves and they have a right to decide what is done with their data. 2009 will be a year of consolidation in social networking and microblogging and opening up of platforms, so users can use one login and move their profile where they want online.

4. Generation X-tasy: the experience economy is uprising. You don't want to go to a party, you want to go to an experience. There are cruise ships with amphitheaters on board, the gaming industry has become bigger than Hollywood. 2009 will not be about luxuries and materialism, but about valuing experiences.

5. Freeconomy: more and more goods and services are offered for free particularly online, prime examples are Wikipedia, Google services, open source software, book releases for free online, music released for free online, the list goes on. This trend will build even more momentum during 2009 especially with this economic climate.

6. Providing solutions to social dilemmas NOW: Relevancy now. Making products and services relevant by incorporating ‘attributes’ and features that cater to distinct (if not niche) consumer lifestyles and situations. in 2009 companies may not launch brand new products but refine and make more relevant existing products/services.

7. Data Visualisation: Some call it mapmania or augemented reality. With the use of "tags", "smart phones" and "GPS" maps will come alive and data visualization will help us analyse and make useful all the data available to us online. 2009 will prove a breakthrough year in terms of identifying solutions to social dilemmas by using data visualisation.

8. Audience as author: PICNIC 08 conference theme was about Collaborative Creativity, or as Matt Hanson called it "audience as author" which is the next step in professionally managed crowdsourcing which is creator-led and member-powered. Services are springing up all the time where the audience/customers are actually the authors and creators of the product they are purchasing. 2009 will be a year of identifying the best balance of power between reator-led and member-powered.

9. Connecting physical and digital: Virtual things in a virtual world is so passe. Take a look at Nike+ and Nabaztag as examples. Connecting computers was a 90's thing, this generation is becoming the unhooked generation, wireless means freedom. DWT (Driving While Texting) is becoming the new DUI (driving under the influence). Smartphones are becoming Crackberries, and we're becoming addicts. But 2009 and beyond will be about figuring out how to connect other things, physical thing that surround us to the digital world.

10. Personalization versus privacy: LG is developing mobile phones with the touch of human skin, people call their laptop "their lappy." Technology is literally becoming personal, everyone is developing personalized products/services. Yahoo is leading the way in terms of data privacy issues. In 2009 the key will be to find the balance between personal and privacy.

Other trend sources:
Trendspotting.com
Trendwatching.com
ubercool.com