This is our last YIR post and my attempt to look forward into 2009 and pretend that I know what will be "hot" or "not" in the tween/teen/twentysomething tech space. Since Ypulse tends to focus on the "now," please take these with a big grain of salt and agree, disagree or better yet, add your own in the comments.

Hot

Useful Facebook Apps Youth who have been on Facebook since their early teens will begin to tire of apps like Lil Green Patch and Super Wall. While quizzes will continue to be popular so will apps that actually help you get stuff done like LuckyCal or offers students the ability to learn online like PodClass. As Facebook becomes more of an "operating system" for the internet (Facebook Connect will also be huge), younger users will begin adding tools to their profile "flare."

Getting degrees online As the financial downturn and credit crunch makes college even less affordable and accessible this year, we're going to see more and more young people going online for their degree. University of Phoenix teaming up with MySpace Records Kate Voegele was a smart way to begin reshaping online education as a "cool" option for teens who don't have the grades or the resources to go to a traditional school. See this post from Ars Technical about the boom in online education and today's Media Post article about Kaplan University.

Creating your own iPhone apps While the college/early twentysomething set may end up tiring of mindless Facebook apps, those who have iPhones are probably marveling at the possibility of actually making money off an app that makes your phone pass gas or battle with a lightsaber. I think there will be lots of younger people creating these apps either to make a quick buck or showing off their talent at work by volunteering to make one for their company/brand.

Multi-media Newsfeeds Lifecasting or keeping tabs on your friends' lives through newsfeeds on social networking sites hit a tipping point in '08. This year will be the year video expands beyond the YouTube ghetto and becomes more of a way to capture what you're doing right now. With the success of lower-priced digital cameras with video and the Flip and sites like Facebook making it social and simple to post, we'll see more teen girls and young women producing and posting video.

Grouping friends & limiting profiles This is beginning to happen already, but now that social networking has gone mainstream and expanded well beyond teens and college students, context for what you post and who sees it is becoming crucial. With mom and dad and lots of other adults with authority over teens wanting to "friend," youth are being forced to actually go through their privacy settings and set boundaries over who can access what updates and photos and think about managing their online identities for different relationships/contexts. And of course this may also spur youth to move away from MySpace and Facebook back to social networks that are more teen focused.

Not

The Limitations of the Google-verse This one is from Ypulse managing editor Meredith Sires: With @edu possibly becoming endangered, more college students will hang on to their Gmail accounts as their primary email addresses. This in turn will be a gateway to Gchat replacing AIM and for those that spend a significant amount of time on the web and are already familiar with RSS– Google Reader. I could also see this translating to the workplace with GoogleDocs (my old office was increasingly using this tech rather than just sending a Microsoft Doc). However, as far as Google's smartphone (Gphone) and internet browser (Chrome) it seems like the chances of either taking off or even really landing on teens and twentysomethings' radar in the year ahead are slim. Right now smartphone = iPhone (in the same way iPod = mp3 player). Conversely, a browser is a browser.
In both cases, kids won't be in the market for a new one.

The PS3 I'm not a gamer, but I live with one. We have a PS3, but I've been hearing rumblings lately about how we should have gotten an Xbox. As a gaming console, the PS3 seems to have squandered its opportunity by remaining too pricey and Microsoft having popular titles like Halo exclusively for the XBox. Throw in the mainstreaming of gaming through family-oriented consoles like the Wii (popular with non-traditional gamers like teen girls), and one wonders whether PS3s will end up being valued more as Blue-ray players than gaming consoles. This WSJ article sums up Sony's dilemma nicely.

The kids/tween virtual world glut With so many virtual worlds live or launching this past year, there is bound to be a shake out in '09. Club Penguin, Webkinz and the other biggies aren't going anywhere, but for the smaller start-ups dependent on future rounds of investment to stay afloat or expand, 2009 will be a tough, if not impossible year. Virtual worlds are more popular with kids and tweens than they are with teens, but there can only be so many in the "environmental niche," for example.

eReaders for youth Meredith agreed with me on this one – early adopters and commuters may love their Kindles, but I just don't see younger readers embracing eBooks anytime soon — even on the iPhone. Unlike the whole cd player vs. iPod deal, youth like the way books look (covers!) and feel. Plus, if you're reading a cool book, you feel good about subtly showing it off.

Tween social networks I'm not talking about virtual worlds with social networking elements, but about attempts to build separate MySpace or Facebook junior-type sites for the 10-13 set. The reality is that tweens (especially at a mature 11, 12 and 13) are aspirational and want to be where the older kids are. These tweens don't want to hang out in the parent-approved "safe" spaces created just for them. More of these tweens are already on MySpace or Facebook, often with their parents' blessing (and watchful eye). Social networks are driven by having all your friends in one place — if your friends are on MySpace or Facebook, it's going to be tough to get them to go create profiles and buy into the concept of a network like Imbee – as well meaning as it is.

P.S. I may end up with some revised views after my trip to Vegas tomorrow where I'm speaking at the Kids@Play Summit, which is part of CES.

For more coverage of youth marketing on Ypulse, please visit our Youth Marketing Channel, sponsored by Youth Marketing Connections.

Categorized under: Youth Marketing

You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site. If you are a Facebook user, comment using your Facebook account.