The discussion about privacy; my right to be me and own my data has been gaining momentum in the last five years. We are rapidly losing control over our personal data and identities in today’s fast moving digital world. The advertising world collects ever more data to try and predict our needs based on who we are and our behavior. 2014 has shown us that our online identity isn’t safe from advertisers, hackers or even governments.

So the problem of who controls my identity becomes more and more interesting to the actual owners – each and every one of us. . Laws around how to keep and secure data, and restrictions about sharing it are on the way through movements like the Right to Be Forgotten.

In the passing year we have seen lots of solutions focusing on sharing using “Privacy by design” to be the key feature, apps like Snapchat , Whisper, Secret, Tinder, Tumblr, the Silent circle messaging and their Blackphone. These applications are chat, photo sharing and social media where the privacy and trust is built in.

So the market demand for privacy oriented solutions is there and the technology has existed for several years. The missing key ingredient that will drive it into the mass market is how business can make money from privacy. In the next year I expect to see more and more monetization concepts to make money from solutions that provide anonymity and privacy. The market demand is there and the technology is there…

We will fall in love with electronics (again)

Since the 90’s, the idea of a connected smart home has excited millions. The idea of an electric light that will turn on when you step in the room and you can close with a clap is not new. But it is only in the last year that the idea of Internet of Things has really started to be feasible.

The good news is that electronics are back and so is software. After all it is through software that we interact with devices and makes them seem exciting and new. Over the last 15 years we have tried to create value in software by adopting various business models. From the Freemium model, giving limited functionality and then charge when features are added through the models that monetize through Google Ads and search up to the SaaS models where it is not the software you pay for but a service that comes with it…

In 2014, we saw Fitbit emerge as a leading wearable device, and a big part of this is software that makes it seem very personal to every one of us. It was the same with the GoPRo camera – transferring a simple camera into high end extreme sports filming equipment. In 2015 I expect many devices will evolve to become connected and take on new roles in our digital world. Software will be an important factor in deciding which devices are successful, it’s through software that devices become personal and relatable.

We will search less and discover more

Since the beginning of the internet, search has taken a cardinal place in our interaction with data. First Yahoo and then Google made sure our homepage is a search page.

Microsoft went on and translated this behavior into the application on the PC, and now we have a search box almost in everything and everywhere…

With Adwords technology Google cracked the way to monetize search behavior. The search term that the user enters translated to ads that the user wants at that moment.

Smartphones arrived and quickly become a main vector for search, both of the Internet and of ever growing app stores. Importantly they also heralded the arrival voice recognition technologies and of voice search. But as technology advances there is a quest to predict the search. To analyze requests and behavior so that the information we seek is already there waiting for us. We can see it in action with programs like Google Now that collects information about you from a range of sources and tries to predict what you need, whether it’s directions to work, your flight times that day or what the weather will be like.

But in less obvious move, many successful mobile apps have removed the search field and actually providing people with suggestions or things to discover as a way increasing engagement as well as servicing and increasing the value of apps and services.

There are many examples of this discovery mechanic in online news where services like Outbrain and Tabula offer more content to people who read news, and monetize through pay-per-click

Other examples of discovery replacing search are popular apps like Instagram, Flipboard and Facebook where people are encouraged to roam and discover news, pictures or friends.

Perhaps the best example of this is Tinder where rather than searching for match, the app makes constant suggestions that the user accepts or rejects

I think in 2015 we will see this trend getting stronger and more apps and services will increase the promotion of content to their customers as a way to keep them interested in using the application or service.