The Dealey Group at ICSC MOCIAL: The Top 10 Trends from SXSW Interactive 2014
So we’ve been a little busy over the past year… The Dealey Group has been hard at work coming up with new ideas for our incredible clients, jetting off to conferences across America, and welcoming a few new members to our Dealey Group family, including a couple of pint-size additions (adorable Baby Elliot and Baby Kate!).
But with so many cool things going on, we hope you’ll stop by on occasion as we share our thoughts, news, and experiences, and of course, a little bit of fun along the way. You know… #TheDealeyO!
We couldn’t think of a better way to kick off the return of TheDealeyO than by blogging about our latest trip to the ICSC MOCIAL (Mobile+Social+Local) Conference in Austin, TX, where our fearless leader Jen Augustyn broke out “The Crystal Ball” and shared the top ten trends from this year’s South By Southwest conference! Jen’s presentation showcased ideas that were innovative, life changing, and at times a little bit frightening (“nomophobia" anyone?); but there was never a dull moment, as you can see by the tweets below. You can check out the entire presentation on SlideShare, but we thought we’d share a few of our favorite trends with you right here on TheDealeyO!
1) Facial Recognition & Emotion Sensing Technology
A bra that can keep you from emotionally binge eating? Okay, maybe not. But the future of facial recognition could become extremely beneficial to us in the future. For example, Toyota will be using facial recognition to recognize when drivers start to become drowsy and can help wake them up.
By now, we’ve all heard about Google Glass, but what about Google’s Moonshot contact lenses, which can monitor your blood sugar through tears? We were also big fans of one of the more fashionable wearables: Ringly, a ring that can sync with your phone and will vibrate or light up when you get a message from certain contacts. Pre-order one now for $145!
This was the part of the presentation that really started to veer into “The Jetsons” territory for me. I was not alone.
To illustrate what haptic sensations could become in the future, Jen shared a video by Leo Burnett and Contagious, in which a man is able to feel different fabrics for his new Hugo Boss suit by touching his computer screen. I mean, you just KNOW that’s how George Jetson goes pants shopping.
Did you know you could get “points” for watching your favorite TV shows? I could be into that. Did you also know that there is an app called “Gym Shamer” that sends out a message to all of your social media contacts when you decide to skip a workout… not so much for me, but you know someone out there will be into that!
This trend included one of my favorite future technologies: “The Smart Refrigerator.” While the smart fridge won’t actually be able to do my grocery shopping for me, it will be able to give me the most up-to-date image of what’s in my refrigerator by snapping a picture every time the door is opened and delivering it to my phone. It’ll do for now.
3D printing is another trend that most people have seen, but not everyone has seen it used as an advertising tool… until now. At SXSW this year, Oreos let attendees create an edible custom Oreo using a 3D printer in their “Trending Vending Lounge” that literally allowed fans to #EatTheTweet. Don’t worry, a Milk Bar was nearby.
Speaking of food, did you know that IBM has created an artificially intelligent computer system called Watson? Since Watson has access to pretty much every recipe known to man, he whipped up these insane (and apparently insanely good) dishes that were sold at an IBM Food Truck at SXSW. Belgian Bacon Pudding… I mean why not?
Okay, glow in the dark road paint that charges during the day… why isn’t this on every street ever right now? Jen also shared some great news for anyone who has or is planning on buying an electric car: Electronic Priority Lane induction charging will allow the cars to charge themselves while driving.
Raise your hand if you’ve ever contributed to a Crowd Tilt fund. Now raise your hand if you’ve ever contributed to Fundrise: a real estate crowdfunding and investment platform. With minimum investments starting as low as $100, anyone will be able to invest in real estate. We expect you’ll be able to raise your hand for Fundrise very soon.
10) The Internet of Things
When “You’ve Got Mail” came out, the Internet was little more than a place to look up useful information. It was also a place to form a life changing bond with Tom Hanks in a chat room, but I digress. The Internet is so much more than that now. It has created a web of connected things in our lives and has rendered our smart phones more integral than ever. Jen put it best when she said: “Your phone will become the remote control for your life.”
If you’d like to learn more about any of these trends or how they might impact the future of marketing, reach out to us to set up an appointment!
