Do these 2010 social media and tech trends still hold up?

As we kick off a new decade, it’s always interesting to look back on where we were and how far we’ve come.

And thanks to the unfailing memory of the internet we can easily look back on where social media was headed ten years ago with articles like this one from Mashable. The perfect clickbait headline draws us in with some hefty predictions kicking things off with ‘Five huge trends in social media right now’.

So the question is, do these trends from early last decade still hold up? Let’s have a look …

Social Scanning

The start of the 2010’s saw the ‘miracle’ of smartphones and of course the smartphone camera. Having a camera in every consumer's pocket saw businesses scrambling for new ways to utilise it. Enter the QR code. Being able to scan a code and receive more info, deals etc was going to revolutionise life as a consumer! Of course the next logical step was going to be social integration so consumers could easily scan and engage with brands, fans and friends.

And in some countries, it completely took off. QR codes are now part of everyday life in China. Every payment, friend-add, and message connection is done through a QR code scan on WeChat or AliPay. Unfortunately, barcode scanning never really got to the next level in New Zealand. There was a small period where businesses were using QR codes to connect their print and digital offering but with small phone storage capacities on earlier smartphones, the scanning app was usually the first to go in favour of more photos or music.

These days Facebook Messenger and Snapchat are still using QR codes as a way to connect with new friends but it hasn’t really moved much from there. As our payment systems change and we become more reliant on our phones we will likely see a shift toward barcode/QR usage like China.

Q&A and Intelligent Information Discovery

The perfect mix of curiosity, access to information and ability to express your opinion has created the perfect breeding ground for Q&A platforms. Whilst things like Facebook Questions and Aardvark have fallen by the wayside, Quora has gone from strength to strength. It even features regularly alongside Twitter and Instagram in the popular ‘Actually Me’ YouTube series from GQ.

Only a few Q&A platforms managed to survive the 2010’s as users began to use their favourite social media channels as Q&A spaces. Reddit saw the rise of threads like the ever-popular ‘Am I the a$$hole?’ and Twitter users began asking their communities for advice and recommendations.

As we become increasingly sceptical and wary of ‘fake news’ on our social media, we might see a rise in the use of Q&A’s as a way of sorting information by using people we trust. This, however, poses its own risk as our learning becomes confined to an online echo-chamber. Facebook Groups and algorithms on channels like Instagram are already lending themselves to this problem. If we continue down this path, we might start to see significant growth in topic/brand specific forums over our standard social channels.

Group Buying

Groupon was a fully embedded, online deal site in America by 2010. It leveraged the bulk buying power of online groups like no other. And with such a strong social tie, it’s no surprise this article saw group buying as the next big wave in social media.

However, as the Groupon model was duplicated and group buying power became the norm, it quickly moved away from its social roots. Since the early 2010’s, social media channels have started to integrate coupons and deals into their own platforms with Facebook coupons and Instagram shop facilities ingraining themselves in social selling.

As social media channels try to balance the social networking and selling aspects of their platforms, it will be interesting to see how they change in the next few years. As Facebook Groups continue to rise in popularity we may see a resurgence of group buying through this channel.

Mobile meets loyalty

With the big shift to smartphones and affordable mobile data it’s no wonder that Mashable predicted a heavy digital shift for loyalty cards. However the integration with social media was an interesting prediction especially with growing questions around privacy being raised globally at the time.

Social media loyalty integration hasn’t really taken off here in New Zealand. This may be purely due to the lack of market uptake on loyalty apps. No single app or loyalty program has managed to dominate the New Zealand market with most Kiwis opting for the big loyalty programmes and a wallet full of cards.

However, with the rise of contactless payment and large corporates like Air New Zealand and New World joining forces, we might start to see a change towards digital wallets and an uptake of digital loyalty programmes sooner rather than later. Social media integration may be a little way off though as we can’t imagine users are keen for their friends to know how often they’re at the supermarket.

Checking in to entertainment

Multi-device life really took off in the 2010’s so it makes sense that social media and entertainment would become integrated. But instead of the predicted rise of specific apps, internet users unsurprisingly did what they wanted and simply changed the way they use their existing channels.

Twitter quickly became the channel for live watch parties where fans could interact and chat in real time with other fans across the world. Facebook groups helped create a closed, protected space for fandoms across the globe with the Facebook Watch Party option now taking it to the next level. But maybe the most interesting of all is the rise of the ‘reaction video’ on YouTube. Influencers and fans alike are recording themselves reacting to new movie clips, tv episodes, albums and most of all - gaming.

Fans seem to have their preferred interaction channels locked in so it will be interesting to see how this changes as media changes in the next ten years. As many social media users try to escape the ceaseless efforts of internet trolls, we could see fandoms retreat to their individual corners of the internet and topic/industry specific channels or markets like STEAM, an internet gaming market, rise above the rest.

The verdict

Surprisingly, the trends weren’t as widely obsolete as expected. We still seem to be playing in the same ballpark, the outputs just look a little different. And as tech continues to develop and consumers continue to push for privacy, these trends will most likely continue to push into new territory.

As for the trajectory of next 10 years, anything could happen! But what we do know is that social media is now a relatively mature market with the big channels controlling the space with an iron fist. As businesses become increasingly frustrated with the lack of cut through and Governments try to understand the wider implications of social media, we’re likely to see some regulatory changes and businesses starting to fight back.

For now, we’ll be watching how businesses adapt as Gen Alpha start to control their own devices and how brands react in this new age of TikTok content.

She’s at it again - one of the coolest chicks we know, with a global view of marketing, shares her two cents worth with us, so we can share it with you.

Kelsie is now in Wellington, was in China, is heading back there before moving to bonny Scotland. She also has a depth of film, creative and marketing know-how from her time running social media teams, building digital communities, creating and managing killer campaigns for some iconic NZ brands, and being an overall good b***h at GBB too.

Check out her site, insta, twittering, and connect with Kelsie on LinkedIn.