Tech is in

I’ve always though of myself as being a tech savvy kinda guy, keeping myself abreast with the latest technological developments. Lately, and I don’t know if it’s part and parcel of getting older, but it seems that the world is finally catching up with me; innovations which I thought were only for the Gen X’ers, Y’s and technophiles are being used by everyone.

The recent press coverage about Obama’s use of digital communications in his campaign (sms alerts, email newsletters) have confirmed that even the most traditional establishments are becoming tech savvy. With President Obama being the first computer literate, smart-phone enabled US President in history, this is definitely illustrates the shift in confidence marketers and the public have in digital media’s.

News that the Vatican is preparing to launch its own YouTube channel confirms in my mind that what was once “cutting edge” 24-months ago is now becoming the norm.

http://www.marketingmag.com.au/news/view/vatican-starts-youtube-pope-vision-972

In the past, I have observed that there has been a relatively long lag between when a new technology is announced and when it becomes used in everyday life. How long did it take for DVD’s to finally hit Australia’s shores back in the late 90’s? Sure there have been flops and some technologies have been very slow to take off, Bluetooth and hi-def DVD formats like Blu-Ray come to mind, but I believe there are many more innovations which have had a significant impact on the way we gather and exchange information i.e. Google, Wikipedia and social networking sites that have steamrolled into our lives in a short span of time.

In a world where bleeding-edge innovations are coming onto the market on a daily basis, marketers would be stupid not to adopt them to get an edge over the competitor. One of the more exciting innovations to be released in Australia will be Google’s web enable mobile phones. Google, a company who know how to make a dollar from the web, will be sure to stir things up and get the ball rolling with mobile marketing. Did anyone say advertiser sponsored phone calls?

If the gadgets on show at the recent CES in Vegas are anything to go by, there is going to be a lot of companies looking to get a return on investment, and we are sure to see many new innovations in consumer electronics to hit the market this year.