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By Andrew Redfern @ 8th July 2011 2:55 pm 2011 Predictions

Not only have News International been forced to close Britains biggest selling Sunday newspaper , The News of the World, but they have sold MySpace for a massive loss with MySpace now seeing a rosier future outside of Rupert Murdoch’s control.

News International has not only been dealing with the fallout from this week’s phone hacking scandal but has also announced the sale of the once mighty MySpace for a measly $35million. Bear in mind that back in 2005 News International paid $580million for the social media giant and have now sold it for around 6% of the original purchase price.

MySpace, once the worlds’ number one social media site, has seen an astonishing decline in the past 6 years. Back when News international paid $580million it had 300million active users and the world was only just on the cusp of the social media revolution. Now MySpace has 90million users, many dormant, and this figure has been in decline for years.

The reason for this is not just the rise of Facebook and Twitter but a lack of innovation within MySpace after the takeover by News International. Facebook sought to make their site as simple to use as possible to increase signups and made social contact the very essence of the site to keep people engaged.

MySpace unquestionably allowed its users to personalise their pages more than Facebook, however in the long term this can be seen as a mistake as pages became slow to load, cluttered and engagement with other users was not placed at the heart of the site.

The uniformity of Facebook was not a handicap but a positive as all users had to do to set up a page was add a few personal details, a picture and simply find a few friends on the network. MySpace on the other hand was populated by hardcore users with highly developed individual pages which seemed to put off the casual browser from joining up. Once a newer, easier to use Social Network appeared MySpace simply faded into the background.

There was little in the way of innovation from News International, they pulled a few strings from their movie subsidiary companies to place references in films such as Iron Man and most notably Kick-Ass however nothing in the way of true innovation that would attract users, the lifeblood of any social network.

In essence News International never understood the medium they had bought into and were out manoeuvred by a smaller company that was able to revolutionise social media.

However now MySpace has been freed from its corporate straightjacket it has signalled its intent to fight back and seems to have made a smart move by signing up singer/dancer/actor/all round good guy Justin Timberlake as a partner.

MySpace was initially conceived as a way for bands, musicians, performers and artists to communicate with each other and their fans and it seems as though bringing onboard Justin Timberlake they are going back to their roots. They could hardly have picked a better figurehead as Justin Timberlake has an immense international, cross-generational and cross genre appeal.

Could this be the first move in the renaissance of MySpace? If it is News International could end up with even more egg on their face for selling the company for $35million to go with the half a billion loss on their balance sheet, the loss of the Britain’s biggest selling Sunday newspaper and  a hurricane of truly awful publicity to cap a nightmare week for Rupert Murdoch.

By Andrew Redfern @ 14th January 2011 11:44 am 2011 Predictions

Hit Searches white paper, “Online Marketing Predictions for 2011″ has made it into Search Engine Land’s prestigious “The Big List: 168 online marketing trends, predictions & resolutions for 2011“. The list which is released annually in January each year contains the most influential online marketing companies and their predictions for the year ahead.

This is the first time Hit Search has been picked up by Search Engine Land’s list. It is seen as an honour for online marketing companies to be included in the list which has massive influence over the industry worldwide. The list has doubled since last year with 168 links to predictions covering all things to do with online marketing, from SEO, PPC to Affiliate and Social Media.

“Danny Sullivan and the Search Engine Land team are the definitive name in the search engine marketing profession. I am glad that our predictions made such an influential list.” – Andy Redfern – Director.

Hit Search’s White Paper – “79 online marketing predictions for 2011” can be found here.

By Andrew Redfern @ 6th January 2011 4:53 pm 2011 Predictions

By Andrew Redfern @ 29th December 2010 8:35 pm 2011 Predictions

Mobile Predictions in 2011

- Payments via mobile will become more likely in 2011, but will not become common place until 2012. Apple (iPhone 5), Samsung (Bada 2.0) Google (Nexus) have all plans to support Near Field Communications (NFC)  in 2011.

- Coca Cola or Pepsi will link with one of the major smartphone providers to allow purchases to be made via the phone. A successful case study will push this concept to the front of mind, and will push growth in 2012.

- Nokia has already stated that it will add the NFC software to its smartphones in 2011.

- Apple will be linking products as well as applications to its iTunes payment store.

- Mobile browsers will be used less frequently in comparison to smartphone applications – why browse the BBC website when you can use a BBC application?

- There will be much more design to allow for offline browsing in 2011.

- The subject of malware, phishing attempts and fraud will plague all mobile providers in 2011. Watchdog, BBC’s flagship consumer affairs show, will highlight these in the 2nd quarter of the year.

- Apple’s MobileMe platform will be an essential tool for Apples mobile products, and this subscription-based model will provide additional steady revenue for Apple throughout 2011.

- Meanwhile, Google’s Android mobile platform will by the key drive in its share price; Android captured 22% of the market on mobile platforms last year. Google will partner a large mobile supplier to make payments via NFC a reality in 2011 – but don’t expect any traction until 2012.

Cross Platform Predictions in 2011

- HTML 5 will allow for a more strategic view of the web creative, to function over multiple platforms.

- The planning and delivery of resources that are required to develop cross platforms will be more crucial than ever this year.

- The increasing need for cross platform support and measurement will fuel the demand for CRMs and Marketing Management Systems.

By Andrew Redfern @ 29th December 2010 7:34 pm 2011 Predictions

- Bing will incorporate Facebook updates into its search results, providing the ability to manage your online reputation amongst the general public.

- Content-based providers will develop a procedure to remove content that is more established compared to 2010.

- Online reputation management will become more mainstream this year, and will be increasingly seen as a vital aspect of any marketing campaign.

- Facebook will introduce more controls to its interface, as well as launching an awareness campaign to make sure their users know all about them.

- The increase in local-based searches and marketing activity could lead to businesses claiming the wrong listings; the customer service departments of the larger content sites will be able to provide adequate cover to respond to this.

- Reputation management will involves more input and reviewing of media other than text; video, audio and images will all need to be monitored.

- The continued growth of Twitter will continue to cause issues for large and small brands alike.

- Monitoring the reputation of your competition, and integrating what you learn into your overall marketing strategy, will become commonplace this year.

- PR companies that successfully integrate reputation management into overall PR strategies will be the most successful in 2011.

- Reputation management will become a larger consumer and research tool for SMEs.

By Andrew Redfern @ 29th December 2010 6:33 pm 2011 Predictions

- 2011 will be a defining year for government involvement in online affairs, whether we like it or not.

- In America, the Federal Trade Association’s “Do Not Track” proposal is set to “promote privacy, transparency, business innovation and consumer choice”, which will lead to the Government placing extra legislation on companies to promote privacy and protection. This could become a burden to businesses, depending on how heavy-handed the DNT proposal is executed.

- Greater ISP regulation will be proposed by the British Government in 2011, with a bid to block access to internet porn sites at ISP level already being suggested by some MPs.

- An embarrassing online incident will expose how underprepared the UK Government is for so-called “internet warfare”. In a move the press will label “the Assange effect”, fame-hungry hackers will look to publish their date directly, rather than waiting for leaks to be passed onto them.

- Relationships between the world’s governments and payments engines such as PayPal will become more and more strained in 2011.

- It is estimated that around 25% of the British population download files illegally, and the British record industry will be the driving force behind the closure of illegal downloading sites and P2P servers hosted in the UK.

By Andrew Redfern @ 29th December 2010 5:32 pm 2011 Predictions

Video Predictions for 2011

- The growth of the mobile will make 2011 a breakthrough year for video advertisements, with the majority of video ads being viewed on mobile devices.

- The industry will look to standardise video formats, while privacy and advertising standards will struggle to get a consensus in 2011.

- The HD format and 3D videos will be interesting developments in the second quarter of 2011.

- IPTV will make its mark on a local level, and this local level will allow clients to target early adopters.

- Extra functionality of Apple TV drives good progress of the product in the UK this year.

- YouTube will grow its premium partners list, as well as seeking out potential premium consumers.

- The boom of smart phones will continue to see a rise in user-generate content; it is estimated that around fifty hours of content will be uploaded every minute in 2011. YouTube will also introduce more video editing tools for its users.

- An increasing number of YouTube content and channels will become branded by larger advertisers in 2011.

- TV budgets will have to be structured in order to accommodate digital video promotional efforts, so look out for many more spoof trailers online in 2011!

Social Media Predictions for 2011

- 2011 will be a big year for advertising on social networks, with a year-on-year growth of 40% in social media advertising across all platforms. Facebook will grab the lions’ share, while Twitter will launch a more public-facing advertising model.

- More and more media outlets will turn to Twitter as a first point of contact with consumers, preferring the use of #hashtags as a primary inbound communication tool.

- Online reputation management will become more mainstream this year, and will be increasingly seen as a vital aspect of any marketing campaign.

Other Related Stories That May Be Of Interest:

1. Online Marketing Predictions for 2011 – PPC Predictions
2. 22 Online Marketing Predictions for 2009
3. 2009 Predictions Reviewed – Video Search Predictions
4. Online Marketing Predictions for 2011 – Mobile & Cross Platform Predictions
5. Video Search predictions for 2010
6. Online Marketing Predictions for 2011 – Reputation Management Predictions
7. Social Media Predictions for 2010
8. Online Marketing Predictions for 2011 – SEO Predictions
9. 79 Online Marketing Predictions For 2011 – Presentation
10. Online Marketing Predictions for 2011 – Affiliate Marketing Predictions