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Eliane Hong
A backpack, some good vibes and a bit of curiosity to travel the world.

What are today’s digital trends?

Here you will find digital trends that can have an impact on our future and shape a new world in which technology helps to address our needs.

It has been two years now that the tech world caught my attention. At first, I was simply curious and kind of interested in the startup ecosystem. My job at the time required me to stay up-to-date on this matter and I am now grateful for it. It helped me understand the true meaning of the tech world. There aren’t just small companies creating apps and making us more and more addicted to our smartphones. Tech startups are made of individuals who were able to bring their dreams to reality. They are the ones who stood up among their peers and were willing to bring the tiniest change to the table if that meant changing only but one’s life. Above all that, they are passionate people who infinitely share their passion. (And we all need a bit a passion in this world!)

All fields are targeted by tech startups because there are no boundaries with technology. The only limit is entrepreneurs’ creativity. Here are some digital trends that, in my opinion, have the potential to disrupt our world.

  • Internet access via Nano-Satellites: Two-third of the world’s population doesn’t have access to Internet, resulting in difficulties in development and economic activities in these areas. Providing a global Internet access means firstly taking on the challenge of affordability. Facebook plans to connect the whole world to Internet using drones and Google plans to do so by using helium balloons. Internet access is indeed the biggest societal challenge since two of the biggest digital companies are getting involved in it. The French startup 4skies (prev. NovaNano) is providing affordable rich data worldwide connectivity via Nano-Satellites. Using Nano-Satellites is a cost-effective way to bring global connectivity to underserved areas and they can also be used for other applications like in the maritime, oil and gas or heavy equipment industries. The startup uses a patented technology to connect a terminal to a Nano-Satellite and keep track of it remotely while providing an effective data bandwidth
  • HealthTech and Brain Imaging: Brain surgeries require a meticulous work for the surgeon who needs a perfect knowledge of the brain mapping. Today, MRI scans are only available in two dimensions. With a lack of visualization, damage can be caused to the brain. The Spanish startup Mint Labs created in 2013 provides a 3D map of the brain using algorithms to analyze the MRI scans. Using a cloud-based software, the medical practitioners only have to drag and drop their MRIs and they’ll have access to a “Google Maps of the brain”. This technology can help surgeons and brain experts get better information on a tumor’s location before an operation and obtain better information on brain diseases.
  • FinTech and Blockchain: The bitcoin protocol created in 2009 is a peer-to-peer payment system known as the first crypto-currency. While the use of bitcoin is still uncertain, the main innovation is the Blockchain, that is to say the distributed database hosted on machines by operators called “miners”. This Blockchain is recorded cryptographically enabling to keep up-to-date any transactions happening. Using the Blockchain means using a decentralized system that exists through its users. It has many applications such as “smart contracts” that are contracts authenticated by an IT protocol without the need of a third party (i.e. lawyers). This is Ethereum’s mission, now part of the Swiss non-profit Ethereum Foundation. Another application would be money-transferring, field that is today led by companies like Western Union. The American startup Abra’s objective is to provide transfers with lesser fees by converting a sender’s money into bitcoin. It uses trusted tellers, much like a human ATM, who will collect cash money and transfer it to another teller in order to reach the addressee, who will receive the cash money in local currency. This system can help unbanked populations to have access to payment and money.
  • Smart City and Big Data: Companies, apps, websites are all about “raw data” to analyze in order to get the most of it and save users time and provide efficiency. Big Data is precisely the field connected to the data analysis. It can relate to many areas, one of it being the Artificial Intelligence. AI consists of developing software capable of predicting habits and patterns through the results of algorithms analyzing different kind of data, making it intelligent and working on its own. Placemeter was founded in New York City in 2012 and quantifies movements in modern cities. It uses computer vision technology to gather real-live data and then reveal patterns of pedestrian or vehicular movements. Urban strategists can benefit from this analysis to build more efficient cities. The French startup :snips created in 2013 takes data analysis from a user-centric point of view and develops algorithms able to use users’ smartphone data combined with public data like weather, road traffic or public transportation to predict the probability for an event to happen. It has already worked with national French railway company SNCF to develop an app predicting the occupancy of train wagons.
  • Government Tech and Public Transportation: The Smart City movement is about making the cities more livable and efficient by setting up new habits in order to make the cities sustainable. One of the main areas is the public transportation system. To feel connected to the society, citizens need an optimized public transportation system. While in metropolis, this point is not necessary relevant, in rural areas, transportation can be challenging. Transport communications systems are often complex and non-existent in certain areas. Many startups are thus developing software to bring data to the transit system. French startup Pysae equips transport vehicles with GPS beacons allowing them to be tracked and monitored remotely and via a smartphone app for the users. Remix (prev. TransitMix), a San Francisco-based startup creates a software program dedicated to transit planners. They can visualize potential roads for a new transport route and estimate the cost for it to improve a city’s transport network.
  • Virtual Reality: VR uses immersive videos that simulate physical presence in a digital format and creates sensory experiences like sight and hearing. It has been popularized in the gaming world with the Oculus Rift, a headset that allows gamers to play in an immersive environment. Acquired by Facebook lately, VR is progressively reaching a wider audience. Videos in the cinema industry and live content for brands will take a major place in users’ content consumption. Two business levels can be observed: companies that produce hardware to consume VR content like Oculus, or Samsung; developers or studios that create software to create the content. VR images are created through the combination of several videos captured via different angles. No specific camera is able to produce multi-views videos yet, so the challenge is to combine the several together for a seamless result. The company VideoStitch was created in 2012 in Paris and is now also located in San Francisco. It is developing VR and 360 degrees video stitching software.
  • Digital Publishing: Mobile content consumption is growing rapidly and printed publications lack the interaction between real-life readers and online readers. The future of media will unquestionably take on the mobile audience, if not already. I believe printed publications will remain relevant if they can find an innovative format to appeal to the readers, but the majority of news consumption will take place online and on mobile. To this end, the English startup Peekster is building a bridge between printed and online publications. It develops a smartphone app that lets users snap a picture of a printed article and the algorithms look for its digital counterpart, allowing the readers to share the article instantly with their friends. The company is partnering with British free publications and plans on making partnerships with a wide array of publications.