To ring in the new year, Edelman Digital recently published “Eleven digital trends to watch in 2011“. Although Edelman itself focuses on public relations, several of their observations apply to publishing and media companies, as well.
The trends they identify include a rise in digital curation, transmedia storytelling and (not surprisingly) ubiquitous social computing. Each of the trends is bolstered by lessons and action steps that the authors, Steve Rubel and David Armano, recommend.
Toward the end of their assessment, Rubel and Armano forecast a 2011 in which “Google strikes back”. Their assessment: visibility will trump keywords in linking audiences to content, and the value of “regional, relevant and high-quality content” will increase.
In an October post, “Context first“, I offered an assessment that media and marketing practices are converging. The Edelman analysis shows in some detail how much overlap there can be between PR and content, especially in digital environments.