JWT List of 100 Things to Watch Includes Book Club 2.0, LCD Art, Lytro Camera

JWT, a global leader in marketing-communications, has released its list of 100 Things to Watch in 2012. The list was compiled by the agency’s JWT Intelligence group, which strives to make sense of the chaos of hyper-abundant information and constant innovation.

“Many of the items on our list reflect broader economic, environmental, technological and social developments we’ve been tracking, while others have potential to ladder up to bigger trends,” says Ann Mack, director of trendspotting at JWT.

Some of the 100 things on the 2011 list included new forms of books, entrepreneurial journalism, long-form content, and 3D printing.

Technology continues to have a prominent presence on JWT’s Things to Watch for 2012. Here are a few of the tech-related items making the list.

Access everywhere
Consumers will be accessing music, books, and video on a multitude of Web-connected devices wherever they are.

App overload
JWT predicts that the app-fyin of everything is just beginning: “The novelty of apps will wear off as consumers become paralyzed by too many choices.”

Apps for an aging world
Expect more apps aimed at older demographics.

Book club 2.0
Book clubs will use Web tools such as Skype video-calling and social-networking tools such as Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and Flickr to talk about books they have read.

Crowdsourced learning
Knowledge seekers will look beyond the traditional student-teacher structure. Learning is becoming more democratic as people connect with teachers, hobbyists, and experts looking to share their interests and impart their knowledge.

Digital-into-physical postcards
Vacationers and others will use Sincerely’s Postagram app and Postcard on the Run to turn snapshots into snail-mailed postcards. (The “objectifying of objects” in an increasingly screen-filled world is one of the 10 bigger trends that JWT sees for the year ahead.)

LCD art
Limited-edition digital works will be accessible on mobile devices, PCs, and connected TVs. And in 2012, Samsung will produce high-res screens for displaying artwork.

Lytro
The Lytro camera will enable hobbyists to take “living pictures,” that can be refocused by the photographer and viewers—after the image is recorded.

Screened dining and shopping
Interactive screens in restaurants will replace menus and help entertain diners. Interactive touch screens in and outside of stores will allow customers to learn more about specific products, explore the inventory in greater depth, or browse the catalog after hours.

Videograms
Just as Instagram has transformed the way people show off their smartphone photos, new apps will enable users to add cinematic filters and music to their footage and share it over their networks.

Voice-based microblogging
Users of services such as Bubbly will be able to send text carrying sound files from people they follow.

Voice control
Spoken commands will control everything from thermostats to televisions, perhaps making remote controls obsolete.

Zink
Zink (“Zero Ink”) printers use a special thermal paper that doesn’t require ink or toner. Through partnerships with Dell and Polaroid, Zink markets a device that prints photos directly from a camera, anywhere.

The JWT list also includes noteworthy events on the calendar, people to keep an eye on, and things to watch in marketing, retailing, travel, food and sustainability.

You can read the full list of 100 Things to Watch, in the Slideshare presentation below.

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