My digital glass of wine

After a hard day I used to come home from work, throw on my sweats, and curl up on the couch with a glass of wine to watch Modern Family. Now, I want to curl up in front of my laptop and ingest tasty images of beautiful things that I would like to have, or just like to look at. It’s like porn for the dreamers, the fashionistas, the home renovators, the inspiration seekers, the cool hunters, and the time wasters. Here are my sites: 

Pinterest (duh)

The Fancy

Wanelo

Svvply

Nuji

Tumblr - it’s all about who you follow

And of course, there’s a slew of blogs, e-comm sites and newsletters to go through, including Fab.com, Jak & Jill, Now Manifest (previously Fashion Toast), Vanessa Jackman, Elle Street Chic and Wit & Delight. 

What sites do you visit when you need a break from reality?

Digital Trend: Wearable Technology

We’re entering two areas that I love with this this digital trend: fashion and fitness. Wearable technology, sometimes referred to as 27/4 wearables, implies digital devices that you, well, wear. This trend was kicked off this year by Nike with their Nike + FuelBand exercise monitor, which calculates how much one runs, walks, skips, jumps, or does pretty much any other activity while wearing the wristband. I can hear you saying: “Nothing new dude, blog about something I don’t know,” so let me finish. Wearable devices are predicted to expand well beyond the sports arena in 2012, and well beyond Nike+ technology. 

The Fjordnet digital agency in London says that: “Wearable devices will help bring a broader understanding to our daily lives and wellness. These are no longer sports monitors, but life monitors, observing us 24/7. They will be open and connected, always-on, and they will dominate a new service domain”.

What’s super interesting about wearable technology is that the mobile phone will probably become the hub for transmitting and analyzing data from the device to the user. This makes the mobile phone even more important to us, as it now becomes a device that records not only our lives (social media) but also our health. I look forward to working more on our Brunet MaSanté initiative at Publicis, where we’re currently exploring the opportunities of using mobile to manage prescriptions and general health information.

Here are some examples:

Google’s Project Glass eyewear concept that allows users to take photos with their eyes

Posture sensing shirt

Sterilized, wearable computer patch to monitor patients’ health

 A glove that’s a phone

Digital trend: T-commerce

Although this isn’t technically a web trend, T-commerce (or TV commerce) is a by-product of the digital shifts the world has adopted. When we consider time and place as a factor in purchasing decisions, the need for immediate gratification that the Gen Z-ers demand, time as a valuable commodity and today’s multi-screen consumers, TV commerce makes perfect sense.

T-commerce is still in its early stages but basically it allows users to shop the things they are watching on a television show. So that cool vintage chair in Don Draper’s apartment on Mad Men may be purchased via an app or a Smart TV, all while watching the show.

EBay has already integrated T-commerce into their iPad app, letting users browse merchandise from shows and movies. The new product works with TV-guide data to show relevant merchandise in EBay’s store. While the first version will only run on the iPad, the company plans to make it available on other tablets and mobile phones. For now, the user has to tell the app what channel is on, though eventually it will automatically sync with the TV.

Zeebox is another example. It’s a cross platform application that helps you find things to watch, buy things, and connect with friends watching TV second by second. So you can invite FB friends to watch a show with you at the same time and be able to chat about it simultaneously all together. Then, if something interesting pops up on screen, you can purchase it via the app.

T-commerce represents a new way to advertise to consumers. Through smart product placement, an ability to offer similar products as the ones being shown onscreen (like eBay does) or by sponsoring TV shows (read: a new way to buy your TV media, screw GRPs!), T-commerce is an innovative way to drive immediate sales through this beloved “traditional” medium. Marketers will probably even be able to attract new consumers simply by showing their products in a relevant and contextual manner. 

T-commerce may mean that us advertising peeps stop calling TV a traditional media in in the very near future. According to Nielsen, 86% of people are using a mobile device while watching TV and 30% are looking up something on their device related to the programming on TV. With the advent of Smart TVs, social TV apps and now T-commerce, it’s a long way from being an outdated media that’s on the verge of extinction. 

Digital trend: P2P Experiences

I’ve been ridiculously busy lately and unfortunately my web habits have taken a hard hit in consequence. Twitter has slid down my priority list and Tumblr has ceased to exist in my world. But the pitches have been made and campaigns have been delivered, and I hope to be able to dedicate more of my free time to my dear old “blog” this month. So to catch up on what I’ve missed, I’ve been looking into various web trends. The first one I’d like to talk about is peer-to-peer experiences.

What is a P2P Experience?

In order to save money, pursue passions, reduce waste or just to connect with others, a new economy has risen that is speaking to young people all over the world. It’s called the sharing economy. From travel (AirBnb, Couch Surfing) to transportation (Communauto) to books and gadgets (swap.com) and even personal finance (lending club), people have found ways to get what they want or need by eliminating the often over-priced middlemen. Thanks to social media, this collaborative consumption movement is changing the way people define business and their own sense of material possession. 

Taking it one step further, there are now peer-to-peer marketplaces that even allow people to swap memorable experiences with each other.  Skyara for instance, focused on connecting individuals who seek new experiences with those who can offer them. So instead of taking an expensive photography class, you can meet up with a photographer in your city who’s willing to show you a few things for a small fee or just to connect and create an experience. Or maybe she’s willing to do it in exchange for another experience, like a guitar lesson. Although Skyara was a smart philanthropic and economic initiative, it has fizzled since its 2010 launch. That said, check out what Done is doing. They’ve mixed the Skyara P2P experience concept with Craig’s List and a Trip Advisor recommendation/review tool.

If someone wants to start this up in Montreal with me, e-mail me!

Otherwise, if you’re working in marketing/advertising, think about how facilitating or creating P2P experiences can benefit your brand.