4 Products To Either Dethrone or Cement Google + Facebook For The Next Generation
Four Imminent Market Opportunities That Will Launch the Next Technology Behemoth
Google and Facebook came into the world when it was still pre-smartphone. Now they’re empires — not only because they’ve expanded successfully, but because they never neglected to follow the trends in their industry. Both were the first to realize that desktop usage would drop and that mobile would be the “next big thing.” Just last year, 3/4 of Facebook’s revenue in came from Mobile advertising alone.
That’s because new technologies cause the time we spend on older technologies drop. Because it’s better. Easier. When Augmented Reality finally becomes available and crucial to our lives, we’ll be on our phones less. Not necessarily because we don’t use our phones anymore — even now we still use desktops — but because time is limited and many functions will be able to be done better and faster through AR means.
And that‘s why these 4 fields are so important to Google, Facebook, and every other advertising or marketing company. It’s not that they’ll replace what we have now, but like the mobile advertising market to the desktop advertising market — they’ll sure cannibalize the hell out of them.
1. Digital Personal Assistant Curation:
Expected Time of Arrival: 2~3 years
Google + Facebook Entry: Google has Okay Google and Facebook is still secretly developing Moneypenny (an Human Assisted AI service)
Opportunity: Beyond the fact that MoneyPenny has yet to be released, Okay Google is at the same stage as its Microsoft (Cortana) and Apple (Siri) counterparts — as works in progress. None of them have penetrated mass market habitual usage, but all companies are racing to have them hit that holy grail status of becoming a universal curator for other services and revel in that sweet sweet middleman commission. Worldwide online Business2Consumer commerce was clocked in at $1.2 trillion in 2013 and it’s still growing… now imagine getting a 3% commission on every trade or even just .3%.
2. Virtual Reality (VR) Advertising
Expected Time of Arrival: 3~5 years
Google + Facebook Entry: Google and Facebook’s foray into VR are already pretty well-known. Google has everything from the hardware side (Google Cardboard) to the software side (VR platform DayDream). Facebook has the Oculus, which is now spurring competitors like PlayStation to come out with their own VR headsets.
Opportunity: So far, much of the development is still focused on… well… the development and gaming. Hardware is still being optimized and no one great platform has truly stood out yet. But while all this is going on, the one company that gets how to advertise in a correct and immersive VR experience is going to just own the market. Video ads pay big. VR ads will pay bigger.
Right now we’re still focused on gaming, but think about the opportunities VR applications when it eventually hits others markets. Something like social VR Networks will be more intimate, intense, and consequently — profitable and life-changing because the UX is such a step up in terms of interaction and engagement.
3. Self-Driving Car Advertising
Expected Time of Arrival: 5~8 years
Google + Facebook Entry: Google has already had its own self-driving cars run around the Mountain View area for the last couple of years. Facebook meanwhile hasn’t been shown to be working on anything in this market — except some wild and unfounded — speculation otherwise.
Opportunity: What are you going to do when you don’t have to drive anymore? You’ll still have to kill time for your commute, but now both your hands AND eyes are free and you’ll want something bigger and better than a phone. Once the technology firms up and traffic laws adopt to it, cars will inevitably be judged on one MORE very important component besides their mileage and make: their entertainment system. First one to figure out how to add ads to that system and monetize it? Big money, big money!
Personally, I envision this as either a centralized and powerful machine in the center for group use or individual ones (kind of like tablets) for each seat. With drivers freed up to continue their work on Excel and kids their homework, the system will have to have app store capabilities to cater to both of these needs. This opens up a world of new revenue — app store commission, ads designed for in-car viewers, car apps unrelated to traffic, and more.
Special Side note: The entertainment system thing is also a huge money maker, especially since we all know its going to be sold in dealerships as options with multiple “tiers.” But since that’s hardware and a relationship-based business, it’ll not only be much harder to get into but also much much harder to scale.
4. Augmented Reality(AR) Advertising
Expected Time of Arrival: 10~15 years
Google + Facebook Entry: With Google Glass’ brief stint a couple years back, Google soon found out to its dismay that the world just wasn’t ready for AR at the time. That’s changing, and Google is still going at it with Project Tango, even more so than their investment into VR. Facebook is the same, but with them, mum is still the word.
Opportunity: Look at the billboard image. That already exists. Using just their phone app, UK customers can order off a billboard. Now realize that it doesnt need to be restricted to traditional objects reserved for advertising. Once AR technology really goes into full-swing, there will be no need for things like Amazon’s Dash. Why? Because that functionality will already be coded and built into every product. In 2030, you’ll put on your Google glasses, look at the freshly shattered glass cup on your kitchen floor, and press buy in the hovering digital button.
That means AR’s market is the entire world. Every consumable you can think of. Now that’s called a profitable market.
Ending Notes:
I realize that there are a lot more companies than Facebook and Google that are interested in and developing these fields. The reason why I focus on these two however is because they’re both specialized in the realm of advertising. No other company can rival them in their appreciation of big data for micro-targeting and their corporate DNA for technological advancement: two very necessary combinations for going into any of the four fields mentioned above.
Hope you enjoyed reading my post. If you click the green ♡ below, it’ll turn full and warm and really appreciate your acknowledgement! Give it a try :)
