THE TRENDS REPORT

Proudly brought to you by NATIVE VML

July 2015

A MONTHLY SNAPSHOT OF TRENDS IN MARKETING, STORYTELLING AND DIGITAL

CULTURE LOCALLY AND ABROAD.

AUGMENTATION

While Google’s Soli project will allow us to

interact with our digital devices in new

and exciting ways (and also help us

eliminate nasty screen smudges), there

are still many practical applications for

tactile input devices. While we’ve all

grown accustomed to the mouse,

keyboard and stylus as primary input

methods, there are companies looking at

providing us with far more innovative

solutions.

Tactile interfaces in a digital world.

Tactile interfaces

Ming Kong, a graduate of the Royal

College of Art has developed a conductive

material that employs innovative touch

technology to control and navigate

computer-aided design software.

The silicon-based conductive material can

be moulded into different shapes to create

a tactile interface for digital modelling.

Kong says the project attempts to revisit a

fundamental design question — the

relationship between form and function.

READ MORE

The freedom of a pen

Straight off Kickstarter, Phree is a smart

pen which links directly to your phone,

tablet or computer via Bluetooth. What

happens next? The freedom to write or

draw on any surface. While your phone

may be the perfect pocket device, it is not

the perfect input device. Phree attempts

to remedy this by allowing you to use any

surface (thereby maximising input real

estate), capturing your hand-writing or

drawing. Are the days of touchscreen

keyboards numbered? We’ll see.

READ MORE

Artificial Intelligence,

awesome or scary?

AI has been a long-time dream for many

scientists. Imagine a computer that can

formulate ideas, create art and experience

emotions. The possibilities would be

endless. But what if these smart

computers decide to turn against us?

Elon Musk and AI

Elon Musk has donated the bulk of a $7

million grant to a group of scientists who

have been charged with ensuring that

artificial intelligence does not turn evil.

Musk is not alone, Stephen Hawking and

Bill Gates have also expressed concerns

that artificial intelligence could prove to

be a threat to the survival of humanity if

it’s development isn’t handled properly.

READ MORE

Twitter to implement Deep Learning

Deep Learning is a branch of Artificial

Intelligence which seeks to give context to

arbitrary bits of content. Twitter has

created a team called Cortex, to

implement Deep Learning Artificial

Intelligence. The aim is to help give

context to the millions of tweets that are

filtered through the Twitter system on a

daily basis.READ MORE

INNOVATION

We’re living in an age where it isn’t good

enough to only build a great quality

product or provide an excellent service. A

certain level of “wow” is also required to

win the hearts and minds of the consumer.

That “wow” factor comes in the form of

innovation.

Corporate Innovation - who is

doing it right?

Why Is America so good at innovation?

America, home of the free, land of the

brave. Perhaps there is something to that.

Of the top 10 companies in the United

States, 3 are tech companies that were

founded in the last half century. In Europe,

there are none. Why is America turning

out great tech companies at such a rapid

rate? Is it the culture? The business

structures?READ MORE

How to create a company culture that

sticks

How do you stay innovative? Simple,

create a company culture that fosters it.

India-based media giant InMobi have

created an OpenSource blueprint, YaWioO,

designed to build and foster a culture of

innovation and team work.

READ MORE

The world’s most innovative companies

How does a company make it onto

FastCompany’s top 50 list of the world’s

most innovative companies? Companies

that make the list are not only responsible

for contributing to our well-being, but

each one has a great corporate culture

that fosters out-of-the-box thinking.

READ MORE

Talent is as important as funding

South Africa is also home to exciting

innovations, especially in the start-ups

arena. Seedstars World invests in top

start-ups through a competition held

across 50 countries. 12 start-ups have

been chosen from around the country to

pitch for a chance to compete in

Switzerland for up to $500 000 in equity

investment.READ MORE

An operating system is the base platform

for all of our modern devices. Whether

we’re talking about Android, iOS, Windows

or Linux, operating systems have their

own quirks and features which make them

unique.

Operating systems.

Windows 10

Windows 10 will be hitting the shelves at

the end of the month. With features like

Cortana (a voice controlled assistant) and

Xbox One gaming support, Windows 10 is

set to be one of the most exciting

operating systems to come out of

Microsoft yet. The fact that Internet

Explorer has been shelved is reason

enough to upgrade.

READ MORE

Zorin OS 10

For those of us who are more

adventurous, Zorin OS 10 has just been

released. Based on Ubuntu, Zorin OS gives

Windows users a familiar experience as

far as interface is concerned, but with the

improved stability of a Linux-based OS.

While Zorin OS might not be for everyone,

it will give those wanting to dip their toes

into the world of Linux an easier change-

over experience.READ MORE

MOBILE, DATA AND SOCIAL

Productivity applications have been

around for ages, but could you replace

your desktop/laptop with your phone?

Would you have access to all the same

features and functions?

Mobile productivity.

Andromium

Forget lugging around that heavy laptop

or being chained to your desktop.

Andromium is on its way - an operating

system and hardware dock that allows you

to use your Android phone as an ultra-

portable desktop machine. All you need is

an HDMI screen and you’re set.

READ MORE

The iPad Pro

The oft-rumoured 12.9-inch "iPad Pro" is expected to launch after mid-November. Overseas

manufacturer Foxconn will start supplying components for the large-sized tablet in late

September, according to Taiwanese blog DigiTimes. READ MORE

South Africans and mobile devices in the

workplace

More than 95% of South Africans rely

solely on their mobile devices within the

office. This is according to a new survey

conducted by Dell in partnership with

Microsoft. The aim is to identify what kind

of devices are being used by employees in

South Africa and how companies can issue

devices that are more useful to their

employees.

READ MORE

Omni-channel retailing is the use of a

variety of channels to interact with and

enhance the customer’s shopping

experience. This includes research before

a purchase. Such channels include: retail

stores, online stores, mobile stores,

mobile app, telephone sales and any other

method of transacting with a customer.

Omni-Channel retailing.

Omni-channel and social media

Traditionally, omni-channel strategies

have been a primary focus of the retail

sector. With the ubiquitous nature of social

media, omni-channel strategies have not

only become viable, but absolutely

necessary in marketing campaigns.

READ MORE

MARKETINGAT THE SPEED OF

CULTURE

Not so long ago, comic books were

experiencing a slump in sales. In a shift

spear-headed by a then bankrupt Marvel,

licensing deals and an acquisition by

Disney turned the comic book giant

around. The after-effect? A boom in the

entire comic book industry. Movies

abound, and the fan-base is growing on a

daily basis.

The age of the comic book.

Comic Con 2015

Comic Con 2015 was host to over 130,000 visitors this year, with some visitors standing in

queues for up to 48 hours to see their favourite franchises in action. The first Comic Con

(1970) saw only 300 visitors, a testament to the rise of comic book culture.READ MORE

Camp Chronicle

Camp Chronicle is an educational summer

camp that uses comic books to assist kids

with literacy and learning issues. By

creating comic books from scratch, these

kids are learning skills that will not only

help with learning issues, but also with

their ability to tell coherent and

imaginative stories.

READ MORE

Digital has been around for a while now.

We have the obvious benefits like

connectivity and access to information,

but how are we leveraging this technology

and this wealth of information to make our

lives better?

Digital and a better lifestyle.

Big city movement

Throughout cities around the world, digital information is readily shared and collected through

multiple devices that have become part of everyday life. But in the streets of Singapore, this

amounting of "big data" will soon be used to improve urban life through LIVE Singapore! - a

project that uses real-time data to track and affect the activity of a city.READ MORE

STORYTELLING

While most of us experience social media

through stories we are familiar with, social

media has also begun unlocking stories

that we are unfamiliar with. The power of

social media doesn’t lie in experiencing

the familiar but rather the opening of our

eyes to the unfamiliar.

Hidden stories.

Mecca through the eyes of Snapchat

Worshippers in Mecca are streaming their stories live on Snapchat, opening up the Saudi city

to non-Muslims online. The online push was successful and Snapchat users are able to get a

glimpse of the Muslim holy city on the 27th night of Ramadan – which some believe to be

Laylat al-Qadr, or the “night of power”. READ MORE

They’re called YouTubers, celebrities who

have built massive subscriber bases on

YouTube. At their core, they are smart

content marketers who have built

communities with clever viral video

marketing. Oh, and they’re rich.

Getting rich on YouTube.

Pewdiepie made $7.4 million last year

Another year, another mind-boggling

mountain of money for the most famous,

most popular YouTuber in the world,

Sweden’s Felix “PewDiePie” Kjellberg.

According to Swedish newspaper

Expressen, the 24-year-old brought in $7.4

million in revenue in 2014 from his

YouTube production company. Last year,

he made headlines with a $4 million haul.

The reason for the increase? Another

absolutely colossal subscriber jump from

27 million that year to 37.7 million today.

READ MORE

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