A look back at the 10 big trends in social and digital media in 2010 courtesy of the team at Paratus Communications.

1. Rewind 2010 Social and digital media

3. 10 BIG trends from 2010

4. Summary: Blogger, WordPress, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube continue to be the world’s most popular social media platforms but new and more specific ones are carving out a niche for themselves. Tumblr and Posterous, which are slim-line versions of blogging platforms have become popular amongst hobbyist bloggers who like to keep things short and sweet. Paper.li takes self publishing to Twitter by aggregating the most popular tweets in your stream and automatically publishes them in form of an online paper (but has suffered from the ‘spam’ label as a result). Impact: Easier publishing equals more publishers (and more people equipped to talk about you or your brand). Powerful new platforms make self publishing even easier

5. Summary: CNN released a study into news sharing via social media in the second half of 2010 and it finally added some proof to the theory that news travels further when people actively get involved. 43% of news sharing comes via social media channels (easily eclipsing email and SMS). On average, people share 13 stores per week via social media and receive 26 – this means a small group are responsible for a big portion of the outgoing activity. Impact: The content catalysts are becoming more and more important. In each sector there are several prolific content sharers who have the ears of their communities and getting them to share content you’ve created is often more lucrative than being mentioned in a piece created from scratch by someone else. Sharing the spoils

6. Summary: Say what you like about Mark Zuckerberg but his organisation listens. Early in 2010, Facebook moved away from classify people as ‘fans of brands and people’ and simplified it by allowing users to ‘like’ things. This subtle but significant change meant sharing content and endorsing pages fell under the one banner, making it easier for people to interact with things they were interested in. The like / dislike rating system is fast becoming the standard across all social platforms. Impact: Brands get an immediate idea of the popularity of their content / activity and can measure the impact outside of just their own pages. Facebook ‘likes’ brands

7. Summary: Facts and figures are vital elements in the creation of mainstream news. For example, a fashion label can’t say a new trend has emerged unless sales data can back up the claim. The social web is no different, in fact the hunger for data is even higher thanks to the frequency in which information is required. This has seen a boom in the use of infographics (see left) and other data visualisation techniques by brands to create new coverage opportunities. Impact: Bloggers will always seek out official stats in the first instance , but in place of those will use whatever Google digs up for them. Brands can take advantage of this by being more proactive in the dissemination of data, giving the growing legion of ‘self-publishers’ more content of value. This could be as simple as publishing a monthly data index. Data riches

8. Summary: Many have called 2010 the year of the smartphone, but the most important trend in mobile technology was the launch of the Apple iPad and similar devices. Tablets are essentially content facilitators, bringing rich imagery and moving pictures with you wherever you go. Impact: Several impacts have occurred as a result of the tablet explosion. Media outlets have recognised them as the future of publishing and creating bespoke media titles just for them. App developers have also had to adjust their output to meet the technological requirements of each device. Tablets will follow the development pattern of the smartphone, but at a much quicker pace. Tablet time

9. Summary: Geo-location platform Foursquare received a lot of attention in 2010 but it was other platforms which involved a ‘participate and reward’ element which are the ones to keep an eye on. A great example is GetGlue which encourages users to rate things like TV programmes, movies and people in exchange for collecting special stickers. GetGlue also allows users to ‘check in’ to an activity like watching a TV show, which has opened up a new avenue of rewards and tie ups. Impact: A simple incentive like and exclusive sticker checking into the premiere of a new season of TV helps boost ratings while also makes individuals feel valued – this will become the norm soon and brands have to start to act accordingly. Rewards on the rise

11. Summary: Content is often labelled as the king of social and digital media but without context it can be wasteful and meaningless. The most valuable form of content in this space is something which has no use by date aka evergreen content. It is often characterised by useful insights and advice that people can consult on their terms. This is opposed to news or personality heavy content which although impactful, loses relevancy in an instant. Impact: A focus must be placed on creating content that adds value to communities, not just flash for the sake of flashiness. Internal experts within organisations are best placed to front content of this nature. Content put in context

12. Summary: Influence and influencers continue to be at the top of the social media debating charts. This year, we’ve seen moves by several outfits to quantify influence through online tools and rating systems, including Klout, which is fast becoming the most recognised provider. Klout takes statistics like Twitter followers, community response and participant output into a formula and calculates an individuals influence in their sector. Impact: While this information is helpful and can assist in the early stages of determining an individuals influence on a community, it is still no match for the insight participants in those communities can provide. If you want to reach food influencers, seek advice who is actively involved in food social media communities. Under the influence

13. Summary: At a time when anything digital is ‘hot’ it might seems strange to say that the traditional website is in decline, but it well and truly is. The reasons are simple enough too. The web is firmly established and an interactive and social space so when you visit a static corporate brochure-style website you pretty much know what you are going to get. Whereas websites, which look and feel more like blogs that are updated regularly give you a reason for a return visit. They become a source of information and enjoyment, not a cold an unappealing advert. Impact: The longer you leave your website in a purely promotional form the longer it will take you to be part of the conversations you are so desperate to be a part of. Websites in decline?

14. Smaller, but still important

15. Of course, these aren’t the only things that happened in 2010. Lots of little things took place to help shape the big developments. And, here they are…

16. Safety concerns about geo-location technology subjected to intense debate YouTube diversifies – delivers TV, movies on-demand and live sport Twitter adds localised trend intelligence / data Personal aggregators like about.me and flavors.me rise in popularity Mainstream media outlets continue deeper integration with social media channels People show an increased willingness to pay for exclusive content (video mostly) Nike capitalised on YouTube’s move to allow unlisted videos which encouraged more direct sharing Google’s native browser, Chrome , made inroads on Explorer and Firefox

17. Twitter made a big change to Twitter.com , making it more media friendly The lines between customer and publisher continued to blur Question and Answer communities like Quora emerged Several studies showed that social media is not just the domain of the generation Y and younger People increasingly expect channels like Twitter to be a customer service route Quantity of content increased but quality suffered overall Social media tools are becoming more specific, making each brand’s toolbox different Facebook fast becoming the online hub for selected brands

18. 2011 and beyond

19. 2011 is potentially shaping up as the final year of social media excess. We think the exponential rate of growth and interest is likely to settle down over the next 12-24 months as social media becomes just another part of the modern communicator’s ever evolving arsenal.

20. Keep up to date with all the latest communications news, insights and trends at www.paratuscommunications.com http://www.facebook.com/ParatusComms http://twitter.com/ParatusComms

21. Credits The following sources were referenced in the production of this report: TheNextWeb.com Mashable.com CommsCorner.com Social-Collective.com CorpCommsmagazine.co.uk