It is about tracking behaviours, interpreting behaviours, designing desired solutions and delivering value to the customer and business. We have algorithms that turn into self-management, and software that makes decisions and gradually learns.
First and foremost, the internet is more than a browser
The internet is also your Facebook and Snapchat app, your Apple watch, and, very soon, your fridge. We currently consume almost 70% of all digital media on our mobile devices. At the World Economic Forum in Davos earlier this year, Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook, explained to people that developing countries had simply replaced the concept of the “internet” with “Facebook”. They enter a store and say “I want Facebook”.
It started with Steve Jobs and the introduction of the iPhone in 2007. Jobs said at the time “This is a revolution of the first order!”, and he hit the nail on the head with these four words: “Internet in your pocket”.
The app-centric internet
These days people don’t surf the net, but increasingly tend to visit individual apps. Now almost 90% of the time we spend on mobile phone activities is on an app, and by 2019, 80% of all internet content will be video. This development has accelerated over the last 18 months. Facebook’s Instant Articles and “native video player” communicate news, Apple has introduced its Apple News and Snapchat’s Discover collaborates with newspaper offices, publishers and others to produce platform-exclusive content.
Facebook is perhaps the player that has made the biggest gains in this shift from web to “Walled Garden” platforms. Facebook’s growth in mobile earnings is also the result of the significant shift from advertising on the web to advertising on social media and mobile platforms.
“In 2019, 80% of internet traffic will be video”.
Will live streaming become the next major content format?
In 2015, Twitter acquired the live-streaming app Periscope, which today is integrated with Twitter. This year we have seen Facebook push its Facebook Live and encourage celebrities and companies to use this technology. The New York Times recently wrote that Facebook Live is one of Facebook’s most high-priority initiatives. They are seeing an opportunity to bring the dynamics of live TV to the internet and simply democratise it. Anyone who has an iPhone with a Facebook app can now become a “live stream” star.
Internet of Things, IoT – Your most important ecosystem
Everything is connected in this new ecosystem. All our widgets communicate with each other. The Internet of Things goes much further than ensuring that your laptop, smart phone or watch are synched. Most installations in an ordinary household have already become a part of the Internet of Things, e.g. Google’s Nest programme, which includes smart thermostats, alarms and cameras. The idea is that all your units communicate in the same network. Today, marketeers are barely scratching the surface of what could be achieved with the IoT. For my part, I note that after I step off the bathroom scales I receive a notification from H&M, recommending boxer shorts one size bigger.