David Brooks  11.02.2016

Some commentators are indicating that technologies such as streaming news feeds, alternate viewing angles, 360 viewing and Virtual Reality creating an immersive experience, will soon be rolled out on a social media platform giving a further boost to the importance of video. And it is not just YouTube any more.

Periscope which promises to let you ‘ Explore the world through somebody else’s eyes is claimed to have 10 million active users’. It is further evidence of the importance of video on the web. A large portion of b-2-b companies have failed to use any form of video to support their products, so will they bother to take advantage of new apps which are becoming available and could help sell their products?

However although the technologies exist, it is not a sure thing they are going to succeed. Think about 3D television. Only a short while ago 3D TVs were being promoted with major advertising campaigns, Sky TV opened a 3D channel and yet TV hasn’t really gone that way despite the capability of the technology. Friends who bought a 3D TV rarely use it, if at all, in that mode. When it was demonstrated to us, we all sat around wearing special 3D glasses and having briefly marvelled at the impressive images, soon decided we had seen enough and took off the glasses. Much the same experience at the cinema too. What has taken off instead, is watching TV output on a range of devices from smart TVs to iPads and iPhones, which offers ‘on the move’ viewing.

One contender in the new technology stakes is 360 degree video which Facebook is said to be introducing a news feed which apparently allows users to experience scenes from different angles viewed on web and mobile devices. This must surely appeal to new product launches, especially engineers who are as much interested in the connections at the back of a piece of equipment as the shiny controls on the front. And what about case studies – ideal I would have thought for architects to view a building structure from various viewpoints.

Next up – live streaming is set to mainstream as more apps are launched. Great for product presentations, conferences and training.

It all looks like this time a wait and see policy is not an option, unless of course you want to be left behind.

And one final point –social media is shifting from being channels that referred sales enquiries to platforms where the sale takes place.





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