Predictions for 2022

Professor Scott Galloway, someone I really admire, has made headlines every year with his predictions and he is unabashed about getting them wrong sometimes. However, he said something really compelling which struck a chord, and I will paraphrase. To make predictions can also serve as self-fulfilling prophecies when you put’em out there. Some can serve as catalysts to spur businesses leaders into executing decisions they have already been mulling and churning over in their heads just shy of the final step.

Here are my quickfire few takes on what 2022 portends in technology as it relates to media and finance, in no particular order:?

The Metaverse balkanization:?

Metaverse came close to becoming the Oxford Dictionary word of the year 2021 if related Google searches were the only deciding criteria. The Metaverse hype curve is far from slowing its march in the popular imagination. The tension between the walled-gardened versions on the one hand and the open-source, open-standard community-driven versions on the other is also likely to gather momentum at the same pace. Another inflection point will be hardware. Is the Metaverse driven by VR or AR, or something else entirely and powered by low latency 5G networks and Clouds on the current generation of smartphones itself? Some surprises in store perhaps as more platforms join the fray in 2022.?

The ubiquitous “Plus” branding:?

The “plus” branding has been most visible in the pivot of traditional cable tv bundles into OTT with Disney+ arguably as the most prominent of these. The plus branding has been embraced by brands beyond media to project “something new” while playing safe with their brand positioning and a certain perceived universal appeal. It is tough to carve out a solid niche with something as generic but counterintuitively, the plus sign has continued to be synonymized with either additional services or a special tier of services accessible only by a certain segment of consumers. Expect more pluses in 2022.?

NFT-driven enfranchisement of communities:

The Rolling Stones have been at it longer than most, to this day despite losing the legendary drummer Chris Watts. Imagine that die-hard fan who hasn’t missed any of their performances including the most recent one in November last year in Las Vegas. That die-hard fan now has an unprecedented opportunity to let you share her experiences with limited NFTs of a blurry Mick Jagger picture shot with a trembling smartphone. The NFT phenomenon will continue its growth trajectory well into 2022 and beyond. However, it will also be this unique opportunity for fans and communities of interest to monetize their passions while also serving as a way for them to ‘show off their stripes’. And communities will continue to tokenize their experiences and interests as NFTs in 2022 and beyond.?

Disintermediation of Gaming:

Gamers will experience a more celebrity status than they have with their following on Twitch and Discord with the rise of the “play-to-earn” phenomenon, popularized by Axie Infinity. Gamers now have an opportunity to monetize their skills by earning real fiat money and not just in-game currency and this will also bring about disintermediation from the PlayStation and Xbox ecosystems. 5G networks will also make massive multiplayer gaming and cloud gaming more accessible, thereby taking gaming further away from the hardware dependence of the console world.

Social becomes a feature:?

Clubhouse was an invite-only rage in early 2021 until it wasn’t. Turned out most social platforms like Facebook and Twitter could simply turn-on audio as a feature. The communities-driven movement as we are seeing right now might event make social a feature of platforms in their quest to become the all-in-one superapps of choice, inspired by their Chinese forerunners. Professor Galloway predicts Twitter for instance may be acquired by Block (formerly Square) or PayPal as a way to integrate social within the larger services ecosystem. ?Some interesting trends to watch out for in 2022 for sure.?

Experience Duality with the rise and rise of AR:

While for VR there seems to be strong ‘for’ and ‘against’ camps, given the hardware limitations, AR and mixed reality could still make massive strides with both platforms and brands going after enhancing or enriching consumer experiences in live sports, retail commerce and travel. The next generation of smartphones might spur an entirely new industry dedicated to adding AR as a feature to existing applications or introducing new AR applications entirely. Think iPhone and app store circa 2011. New use cases beyond recreation in learning and healthcare might emerge from this trend.?

Blockchain beyond currencies and contracts:

This is more the kind of ‘wish it happens’. We might see credible use cases of blockchain beyond systems of value, with some pilots in areas such as identity and health records already gaining critical mass. Cryptocurrencies will invariably steal the limelight with institutional interest and some new CBDCs coming in in 2022 but we will see compelling use cases beyond.

Post-cookie ain’t a cookie-less world:?

While brand marketers and ad exchanges have been vocal and worrying about a certain “post-cookie reality”, the world does not change until 2023 for third-party cookies and in this time, brands have been quietly but surely building up their first-party outreach and resulting captive audience to significantly reduce their dependence on third-party cookies. The additional cookie-policy menu selection we encounter each time we visit a website as users certainly do damage to the CX/ UX we as marketers have been trying so hard to enhance in the meanwhile.

As with most predictions, these too might not come about in 2022 I submit. However, reflecting on these predictions as manifestations of the prevalent macro trends has helped me better connect the dots. I hope they pique your interest around some of these trends and how they continue to unravel in 2022 and beyond.

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Views expressed are personal and do not represent those of my employer or any other entity. ?