Digital predictions for 2016

Predictions, what are they good for? Well, apart from making us look like visionaries in 12 months’ time, they can also help you stay one step ahead of the curve.

We’ve sized up how the digital landscape has been shaping up during the first quarter of 2016 and have come up with our predictions for the remaining nine months.

One thing in particular that could have a seismic impact in 2016 is Twitter’s impending move to expand its character count from 140 to 10,000. Our digital duo, Karla and Etajha, haven’t responded too kindly to this news so have decided to pay homage to the humble 140 character limit by predicting what they think will make waves on the digital landscape this year in as few characters as possible.

1. LinkedIn and Twitter to start believing in second chances and allow people to edit posts.
2. The ability to read lengthy articles within apps, rather than being forced over to Chrome or Safari.
3. The rise in 360 degree videos. We want to see Beyonce AND the grown man crying in the third row.
4. The ‘buy’ button will become universal on all of the platforms.
5. LinkedIn to finally do something about its horror show of a homepage.
6. Snapchat will seem delayed compared to Periscope. At least one breaking news story will be from Periscope.
7. Brands will start catering their content for each platform.
8. YouTube stars like PewDiePie are going to become increasingly influential. We’re not sure if this is a good thing.
9. Facebook to give us longer periods of time to analyse the success of campaigns.
10. The rise of GIFs! They will be used everywhere and with every opportunity.
11. Twitter to introduce audio posts.
12. Brands will use podcasts to tell stories around their products.
13. The use of Slack will greatly increase. If NASA uses it, you should too.
14. Peach is the newest kid on the block, but don’t expect it to knock Facebook off its perch.
15. Animal videos will lose their popularity.

How did that get on this list? Animal videos will always be a thing. Here is one of our favourites.