10 Fearless 2013 Predictions: Hello Collaboration, Goodbye Google +

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By Christina Davis

It's a new year. Do you know what that means? Why, it's time for an SEO-friendly "Top 10" list, full of lots of keywords sure to improve my search results. And the best part is that you're more likely to read this column because it's divided into easily digestible parts. Sounds like a win-win to me.

So here, without further ado, are my top 10 technology trends for 2013:

10. Facebook pages will be less relevant.

I, for one, have had enough of algorithms. First, we had to worry about Google's algorithm for determining rankings for search results. Now, we have to worry about Facebook's algorithm for determining whether your brand's posts will show up on your fans' feeds. Facebook claims its tweaks are all about making the user experience better. Brands, on the other hand, are accusing Facebook of manipulating the reach of their free posts to drive more paid advertising on the site. It's probably a little of both and the fact is, the golden era for brands on Facebook is probably coming to an end. Doesn't mean it's dying completely, but the heady times of consumer engagement on Facebook are waning.

9. Google + will be retired.

Speaking of waning, what can you say about Google+? Google's social answer to Facebook launched with a whimper and has continued to fizzle. There's just no momentum, and I can't see it lasting past the second half of 2013. So if you've invested resources in that site, it's probably time to move them elsewhere.

8. The Blackberry will all but disappear.

Remember when being an executive meant you had a BlackBerry? Well, that sure has changed. Now, if you have one, your business associates are likely asking "What's wrong with your IT department?" RIM, the company that makes the BlackBerry, has a high-profile launch of the latest model of their phone Jan. 30. Some are predicting this will be the rebirth of BlackBerry. I, on the other hand, predict this will be the end for the brand and its tiny little keyboard buttons.

7. Video conferencing will become more prevalent.

Lest you think all my predictions are about things being less important or disappearing entirely, here's a positive one: If you aren't doing video conferencing yet, you will be in 2013. That doesn't mean you need a fancy, multimillion dollar Cisco Telepresence room (although those are pretty cool). There are lots of free or very cheap video conference options, including Skype and GoTo Meeting.

6. Collaboration will be the tech buzzword of 2013.

So long "thinking outside of the box." Bye-bye "innovation." Collaboration will be the word of 2013. And for good reason. Economic pressures mean companies are working leaner, faster and harder. To produce under such conditions means having cross-departmental teams. And it's technology, like the aforementioned video conferencing, as well as CRM systems and wikis, that will enable the work.

5. Brand journalists will go mainstream.

Haven't heard of brand journalists? You will. It's not necessarily new. Those of us in the media world have long had this thing called an advertorial, in which you pay for what looks like an article but is really an ad. But now, businesses are cutting out the media folks altogether and producing their own "journalism." It's not good for reporters like me, but it's a reality of today's social media marketing.

4. Your office will become increasingly less important.

Working from your couch is way better than working from your office. Trust me. With the American economy increasingly moving toward "knowledge workers," the need to physically be in an office is diminishing. More and more of us white-collar workers can do our work from home, and we will in 2013.

3. Big data will get, well, bigger.

Data is all around us. When you go to the supermarket, they collect data on every item you purchase. When you surf the web, they collect data on everything you click. For a long time, all that data has been sitting on servers that have gotten dusty. But businesses are finally figuring out how to process all those bits and bytes into something useful. It's called "big data," and it's only going to be more important in the coming months. The question is: How will your business harness the power of big data?

2. You will use your office phone even less.

Your teenager texts all the time. Soon, you will too. Let's face it, phones are basically voicemail collectors. Get your thumbs ready for texting in the office.

1. You will use your printer even less.

I've been printer-less in my home for more than a year and it feels fabulous. With the ease of cloud computing, you can now access any document from anywhere, provided you have an Internet connection. There's no need for paper, just more bandwidth.

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Got news for our Digital Diva column? Email Christina Davis at cdavis@wbjournal.com.

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