Our guest editor looks ahead to 2011
As Code Computerlove boss Tony Foggett closes out his day as thedrum.co.uk editor, he looks ahead to the new year and picks out what he believes will be the defining industry issues of 2011.
Well I guess the most obvious thing that impacts my business the most is the continued rise of apps as a key consumer touch point for our clients.
Apps, including those that are developed for business, will continue to rise in acceptance and popularity due to the proliferation of mobile devices and app layers on all sorts of technologies like TV for example.
I’m looking forward to seeing the tablet and app market really take off in 2011. Just do a search for what tablets are launching in 2011 – Dell, Samsung, Toshiba, Asus, HP (Palm) , Lenovo (Louis will be pleased) – as well as mobile operators Motorola and T-Mobile.
Unconfirmed possibles are Google’s Chrome Tablet and of course the IPad 2. Most of these tablets will be on Android which will gain ground on Apple's early dominance of this platform. By the end of 2011 it sounds like the tablet market will be a similar story to the current mobile market with Android a close second.
On the back of this I hope and pray that brands wont make the same mistakes they did with their early websites and shop for their apps in isolation like they were some shiny thing they could buy off the shelf.
Apps need be integrated into a wider digital strategy in order to build audience and ensure consumer journeys are thought through. For some of our clients they are likely to take over from their website as the premier consumer interface so some careful planning needs to go into their design and ongoing promotion.
On a techie note I’m looking forward to the rise of HTML 5. Usage of Flash will surely go down as Google, Apple, YouTube, Vimeo et al adopt HTML 5. Don’t panic though, Flash is going nowhere.
Interesting to see that the IPTV YouView platform will be based on Flash and is another thing promised in 2011 - if the red dot boys in Manchester can recruit enough talent to fill their lovely new offices at MediaCityUK.
That's me signing off now. Have a great new year!