What we might see on the timeline in 2022

Nobody asked, but here are my predictions for the year.

The answer is: Yes. But I’m saying it anyway! Happy New Year!

We’re in year two of this newsletter/weekly/monthly-ish collection of internet things. The first year was like a movie. I created this on a whim and had no idea where it would go. But here we are! Still growing. Trying. Thriving! I’m excited to still have you on this journey with me.

Since this is the first issue of the year, I want to share what I’m noticing on the timeline. And, this time it isn’t content. It’s how we’re making sense of what’s put in front of us every day and shifting the way we use social media.

More than ever, the digital space is oversaturated. There are millions of videos, music, articles, books and other media online. We need experts who can break through the noise, and in 2022 we’ll see more of them leading the way.

This isn’t a new development. Curators have been organizing and contextualizing content for a while. They are the new creators.

A great example of this is the rise in popularity of Spotify playlist curators who have built brands around their music preferences. And, who we might think of as influencers are really just curators of products and services.

I see curators helping platforms make decisions about features and creating experiences for other users. Curators will be the bridge. They’ll know exactly how to communicate between their audiences and the people building the platforms they use.

We’re going to keep seeing a shift back toward online communities centered on one topic, fandom, idea, etc. It’s almost like we’re going back in time to the online forum days. Remember those?

We saw this last year with Clubhouse’s quick rise to popularity. While it’s slowed, there are other avenues people have taken to build relationships with like-minded folks online — Twitter Communities and Discord to name a couple.

While we’re still in a pandemic, people might be looking to make connections and the easiest way to do that in these times is online.

And, of course, people want to connect in person. We’ll continue to see content houses and creator collectives grow and pop up as we have in recent years.

With the great resignation, people are becoming more mindful about the boundaries they have between work and life.

Personally, I no longer believe in work-life balance. It’s more like work-life integration. Work has to fit into my life, not the other way around. I live to live and work is what I do — not who I am.

Platforms are going to notice this shift if they haven’t already. Not everyone is going to want to use Instagram or Twitter for work all the time. Why do you think users make separate accounts? People want to be clear about the boundaries they set.

With that, platforms might give users more options to control their online personas. They’ll create new features that will allow people to express who they are as multi-faceted beings. One platform that is already doing this is Polywork, which I like to call “the anti-LinkedIn.”

What are you noticing on the timeline or in the digital space in general? Drop me a DM and let me know!

Also, if you missed the last issue, I started the Audience Journos community on Twitter Communities. If you’re a journalist or in the media/communications industry and your work focuses mainly on audience strategy, I’d love to have you be part of the community. Members include folks from organizations big and small. Send me a DM if you want an invite.

We’ll be back to our regular curation of tweets in the next issue.

Until next time,

Shayne