2012 Predictions: Richard MacManus of ReadWriteWeb.com

2012 Predictions

1. This year's Best BigCo, Amazon.com, will launch a media-focused social network. Kind of like what MySpace used to be. It will be to a place for you to socialize around your reading, listening and viewing activities.

2. Twitter's usage will begin to wane, due to squeezing from Facebook and Google . Maybe then Twitter will sell to Apple. Heck, predictions are no place for maybes. I predict Apple will buy Twitter!

3. Google's Chrome browser will make dramatic inroads into Microsoft's Internet Explorer, coming within 10-15% of it by the end of 2012. This will be due to mainstream people finally abandoning IE in droves. By the end of 2012, Chrome will have close to 30% of the market according to Net Applications (it currently has 17.6%) and IE will have just over 40% (it currently has 52.6%).

4. Facebook will have initial teething problems with its Timeline, but by end of 2012 it will be seen as a triumph - as millions of people begin to use Facebook over 2012 as their digital memory bank. I don't know if that's a brave (new world?) prediction or not, but right now there are a lot of skeptics about Timeline. So I'm firmly betting on Timeline being a big success for Facebook in 2012.

5. Music acts will start to truly tap into the power of the iTunes LP. Currently most iTunes LP releases are simply a PDF file with a bonus video if you're lucky. I predict that in 2012 many more bands and musicians will include multimedia in their digital albums and the braver ones will try to emulate Bjork and create stunning "app albums". This is a bit of a re-hash of my music prediction last year, but I really want to see widespread innovation in the digital album!

6. Bonus prediction: Bill Nguyen of Color fame will convince Silicon Valley VCs to part with $100 million, to fund an amazing new type of smart TV. It will have 4D, Internet telepathy and a revolutionary new sensing feature called Smell This®. RWW Editor-in-Chief Richard MacManus will thoughtfully blog that it "may be the next Google." The TV will flop before the ink is dry on the last VC cheque. A few months later, the futuristic telly will be re-branded as a way to consume Facebook frictionless sharing "on the big screen."

[p.s. I love Bill's spirit, I really do. I hope he does try for another New New Thing in 2012!]

Those are my predictions, now let me know yours :)

See Also

• 2012 Predictions, Mobile Edition: Dan Rowinski
• ReadWriteWeb's 2012 Staff Predictions (And What We Got Wrong in 2011)
• 2012 Predictions: Alicia Eler
• 2012 Predictions: Curt Hopkins

via readwriteweb.com

Predictions...what do you think of this list? Do you have some of your own to share?

Google+ add multiple Administrators for Business Pages

Improvements to Google+ Pages
Google+ Pages have already provided brands and businesses a new means of connecting to and deeply engaging with consumers. In the weeks since launching pages, we’ve been listening to your feedback and we’re pleased to make some of the most oft-requested features available.

• You can now delegate up to 50 named managers as administrators for a page.
• A new notification flow will ensure that these managers stay in the loop on all the activity that takes place on a page, giving managers the ability to stay involved in page conversations.
• We’ll now show an aggregated count of users that have engaged with your page, either by +1’ing it or by adding it to a circle. This way, both you and your page’s visitors can get an at-a-glance summary of who is interacting with your page.

via Google Blog

Tips for Using Google Plus for Real Estate

via thesocialmarketingtouch.com

Have you read our post about using Google+ for Real Estate? We've launched our Google+ Business Page https://plus.google.com/u/0/b/108288662120559691197/

Twitter Launches Major Redesign [VIDEO]

One main thrust of the redesign is making “Twitter more accessible for all 7 billion people on the planet,” Jack Dorsey, chairman of Twitter, said during a press conference at Twitter’s soon-to-be new headquarters in San Francisco on Thursday. Dorsey added that the company has made it “simpler not just for people already engaged but easier for new people to discover it and find value in it. It’s the best place to represent yourself on the Internet.”

via mashable.com

Twitter's recent changes are very interesting for those that make this their main social media portal. There is the opportunity for Brand pages like Google+ and Facebook offer. With YouTube's new layout, Facebook's Timeline launching, Twitter's redesign and Google+'s business pages launching are you feeling at a loss of where to begin?

Are you ready for Facebook's new Timeline? Mashable is sharing a good introduction.

via mashable.com

Facebook's new Timeline is being launched very soon so there will be lots of talk about the changes. Remember that they are equating this to a scrapbook of your life.

On your personal profile you will be able to literally see all the activity that you are allowing to be shared with Facebook and most likely the public.

We encourage you to check your privacy settings and use only one browser for Facebook. You private online activity should be performed in a different browser to ensure those items are not shared with Facebook.

From a professional perspective you'll want to share who you are and your value system to attract the clients that share the same.

It's going to be interesting to see the reactions to this via the Social Media sites on the Internet. Feel free to share your thoughts with us.

Take Google Maps Indoors - YouTube

via youtube.com

Very interesting...or scary? What are your thoughts on this latest tool? Christmas shopping help maybe? I know there a few airports that I'd appreciate this tool in.

With the rate of changes being made at Google I'm so looking forward to the day Google Places and Pages merge properly.

What is your favourite new Google tool?

How do I post a video? - Posterous Help

You can post a video to your Posterous in several ways

If you have a video file, you can simply upload that video file using our Upload Media button in the web post composer. We'll convert this video and make it optimized for web and mobile viewing.

If you are trying to embed a YouTube or Vimeo link, simply insert the link and we'll automaticlly embed the video file for you to perfectly fit your theme's width.

You can also simply email your video in as an attachment. Just email post@posterous.com with your video attached. If you video is too large to email as an attachment, you can use the web editor or post.ly to post your video (up to 100MB).

On the go, you can post videos from your mobile phone by using Posterous Spaces for iPhone or by emailing your video in.

via help.posterous.com

Video posting, uploading and editing is amongst the top questions we get from our clients. Our question is have you tried Posterous to upload your video to social media sites? You'll be able to add your video to various video hosting platforms while create valuable links to your website.