Web

Tech

Trends

2014

In this report, Fröjd Interactive - a web agency with technical core located in Stockholm, Sweden - sums up what to expect of 2014. As always, the future is already here. So, we have focused on 14 things that we believe will hit it big & mainstream next year. Which means - if you haven’t started developing things in the direction of this presentation – you better start now. Enjoy!

www.frojd.se@FrojdAgency

Summary

1. Whatever first

2. The interactive livingroom

3. Please, do not touch

4. Where is my wearable?

5. Web peer-2-peer

6. Nearby communication

7. Pay without wallet

8. There is a web for that

9. O"line accessibility

10. The rise of frameworks

11. API-boom

12. Programmed aestethics

13. The pixel is dead

14. The Instagram effect

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During 2014 most brands and companies will see that mobile is the main channel for dialogue and interaction with consumers, customers and users. However, a responsive approach will not solve everything. The real challenge involves omni-channel strategies, device customized experience, optimizing for multi-screen usage and seamless transitions between the users devices.

1 Whatever first

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References

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omni-channel_Retailing

http://www.mobilecommercedaily.com/why-a-mobile-strategy-is-an-omnichannel-strategy

http://www.mrgco.com/blog/tv-multitasking-a-growing-trend/

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Why talk about gaming and TV when we should talk about web tech trends? Well, soon it will be hard to keep them apart. In Sweden, amongst the online population, 39% are very or fairly interested in gaming, and online gaming is the most popular form of gaming. There are several exciting launches coming up next year, for example Steam Machine by Valve and Kinect for Windows. Regarding TV we have Nexus TV by Google (rumors say it will also run Android games), the talked about ”iTV” by Apple and predictions that Chromecast will kill Apple TV... For sure, the borders between gaming for console, PC and web, will get more and more blurry.

2 The interactive living room

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References

http://www.isfe.eu/sites/isfe.eu/!iles/attachments/sweden_-_isfe_consumer_study.pdf

http://store.steampowered.com/livingroom/SteamMachines/l

http://blogs.msdn.com/b/kinectforwindows/

http://www.tomshardware.com/news/google-set-top-box-google-tv-android-tv-nexus-tv,25337.html

http://www.techradar.com/news/television/apple-itv-release-date-news-and-rumours-1045768

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Tomorrows online experiences will skip the screen between the human and the machine. Instead we will interact touch free, using our voice, eye movement or body movement. By the end of next year Google Glasses, that has been in beta for a while, will launch. In 2014 we believe that the microphone icon (indicating voice search) will spread like a virus. Look out for upcoming buzzword Voice SEO (unfortunately VSEO is already taken by Video SEO). Its less about which words people search for and more about what questions they ask.

3 Please, do not touch

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References

http://www.google.com/glass/start/

http://www.clickz.com/clickz/column/2296771/voice-search-seo-preparing-for-the-future

http://bergcloud.com/littleprinter/

http://www.teenageengineering.com/products/od-11/

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/video-games/Xbox/10462223/Video-Xbox-One-Kinect-2.0-voice-demonstration.htm

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It started with Nike+. Now, a few years later, we see a boom of connected wearables, often with some kind of relation to sports & health (where Tikker takes it to the extreme by counting the days until you die). A cool release in the end of 2013 was Oakley Airwave 1.5, making it possible to find your buddies, collect statistics, play music or check text messages/incoming calls directly in your goggles. We believe that 2014 is the year when smart wearables will go mainstream. Even Oprah Winfrey placed Samsung’s pricey smart watch Galaxy Gear on her list of favorite things 2013... Finally, our body will start to take control over the machine. Or?

4 Where is my wearable?

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References

http://www.wearabletechworld.com/topics/wearable-tech/articles/358662-!itbit-fuel-jawband-more-250-million-wearable-health.htm

http://mytikker.com/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_gIvrVgLmWM

http://www.oprah.com/gift/Oprahs-Favorite-Things-Samsung-Galaxy-Watch-and-Smartphone

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In 2014 we will see the first sharp examples of real time communication between browsers (RTC Peer Connection) using only Javascript API:s and HTML5 which will lead to safer and faster web communication. Overall we see that front-end development and Javascript libraries are breaking the boundaries. Another definition of WebRTC is about all the communication you nowadays can do through the browser, instead of using seperate programs or plugins (for example video communication directly in the browser). In 2014 we want to see more websites and web services using RTC possibilities.

5 Web peer-2-peer

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References

http://www.webrtc.org/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p2HzZkd2A40

Old but good overview: http://www.html5rocks.com/en/tutorials/webrtc/basics/

https://www.sharefest.me/

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Our phones will go warm. By using NFC technology or BlueTooth 4 / BlueTooth LE users will connect with other users and companies more frequently. Discounts, information, advertising, vouchers and tokens will get pushed to people who are up for it. You can already order your own set of NFC-tags and start to create simple automated commands in your phone. In 2014 we will stop scanning QR-codes (who started, anyway?) and instead Tap everything.

6 Nearby Communication

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References

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Near_!ield_communication

http://tagsfordroid.com/home

http://money.cnn.com/2013/12/09/technology/mobile/bluetooth-digital-wallet/

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2013 was the year when different mobile payment solutions took the Swedish market by storm (iZettle, SEQR, WyWallet, Square, Swish and Bart to mention a few of them). However, the solutions are still struggling with thresholds (user needs to download application/scan QR-codes etc.). In the meantime we see upcoming solutions where users can mail their payments to other users (Square Cash) or tweet the payment (Chirpify). And, not to forget, Klarna Checkout. 2014 - paying without wallet will go mainstream. The battle is on!

7 Pay without wallet

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References

https://chirpify.com/

https://squareup.com/

https://square.com/cash

http://money.cnn.com/2013/12/09/technology/mobile/bluetooth-digital-wallet/

https://klarna.com/sv/salj-med-klarna/vara-tjanster/klarna-checkout?utm_source=PD|Google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_term=klarna%20checkout&utm_campaign=PD-KCO"Brand-Exact

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Better web technology creates a feeling of less technology. In 2014 more and more websites will start to feel like applications, thanks to automatic updating of browsers HTML5 has become a new standard. And, new mobile browsers can connect to device information & functionality that previously only applications could. A few years ago we said “There is an app for that”. 2014 we will say “There is a web for that”.

8 There is a web for that

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References

http://mobilehtml5.org/

http://caniuse.com/

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When 65% of Sweden's population are connecting to the Internet via their smartphones it might seem a little bit strange to talk about o#line as a problem. However, the more core things we do online the more important it is that the experience is handled o#line (everyone who has travelled with Swedish Railway knows about o#line). And, not to forget, people still get ruined when surfing abroad. In 2014 we will build web services that will not get affected by a signal drop. There is a need for o!line functionality - for both web and apps - and 2014 will be the year when we fix that.

9 O"line accessibility

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References

http://alistapart.com/article/o#line-!irst

http://highscalability.com/blog/2013/9/18/if-youre-programming-a-cell-phone-like-a-server-youre-doing.html

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The users have new expectations - that are more connected to ”application feeling” (real-time-data, functionality, service and response time) and less connected to long texts and images in a carousel (again, mobile usage is one of the driving factors behind the rapid change). Therefore we believe 2014 will be more about the possibilities of frameworks (like Node.js, Django, xxx and xxx) instead of only working with CMS’s. Because the user is worth it. Because now web is more about service development customized after the users needs.

10 The rise of frameworks

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References

http://www.quora.com/What-technology-stacks-are-used-the-most-in-tech-startups-Why

http://buytaert.net/why-the-big-architectural-changes-in-drupal-8

https://www.django-cms.org/en/

http://highscalability.com/blog/2013/9/23/salesforce-architecture-how-they-handle-13-billion-transacti.html

For years, web has mainly been about content, which leads to the creation of great content management systems like for example Wordpress, Drupal and EPiServer. However, nowadays, web is also about service which places high demands on real-time data, functionality, response time and speed. When we, as developers, start to tweak a CMS to fit the tailored needs of the user and client it might end up slow and messy. The fact that Drupal 8 has been rebuilt based on the PHP-framework symphony, and the ongoing Django CMS-project, are interesting tendencies. Overall we believe that more experiences should be built using frameworks. Because the user is worth it.  

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There are API:s everywhere. First of all we see that more and more companies are structuring their own data in API:s which makes the data much more flexible and fetchable. The other big trend is that more and more web technologies are structured around open API:s to create better browser user experiences (for example WebGL and WebRTC). During 2014 we believe that even more companies (and governments), who previously have had a closed data-strategy, will make data accessible through open API:s and with that leverage creativity and innovation. Plus PR.

11 API Boom

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References

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PzFOAJUxuqc

http://www.openforumeurope.org/data

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Only a few years ago web was mostly about text, images and colors. Now we can do amazing things using for example Web Graphics Library. In short, WebGL makes it possible to show 3D and 2D graphics directly in the browser without forcing the user to install additional plugins. WebGL has been supported in mayor browsers for a while but we were all waiting for Microsoft who joined by the launch of Internet Explorer 11 in October 2013. Still waiting for iOS Safari though... Anyway, almost everyone are in. Let the show begin!

12 Programmed aesthetics

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References

https://www.shadertoy.com/

http://pixelshaders.com/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9dPPDf3ZBBI

http://www.gootechnologies.com/pearl-boy/

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We are now used to small devices (smartphones) delivering top notch quality. But, in the meantime retina and larger screens are entering the market. A lot of websites, coded in an old way with low resolution images and photos, already look crappy. We see a lot of stressed brand & marketing directors out there... As much as 2014 will be about optimizing the experience for small screens & no screens it will be about high resolution optimization and vector graphics.

13 The pixel is dead

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References

http://oneretinapixel.com/

http://alistapart.com/article/surveying-the-big-screen

http://codepen.io/adobe/full/FeiCp

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Now you can crop, rotate and tweak images via a web interface instead of doing it manually in photoshop. Basically, everything you do in Instagram, is possible to do in CSS while the image underneath is always the original. It means, for example, that you can change the visual experience of all images on your site with one small click.

14 The Instagram effect

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References

http://updates.html5rocks.com/2013/03/Introduction-to-Custom-Filters-aka-CSS"Shaders

http://codepen.io/adobe/full/FeiCp

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