With 2009 coming to a very rapid end The Digital Edge decided to take a look back into the year that was with commentry by local web celebrities. What news stories shocked them the most and what technological advances tweaked their interest in 2009? Find out in daily posts or listen to the podcast.
Andrea Mitchel, DigiVox
TDE: What did you think was big in 2009?
Andrea: I think the thing that stood out for me in 2009 is the shift in attitudes towards online. This shift came from traditional agencies and brands alike. Definitely the increase in user base in South Africa has helped give more attention. The recession has also helped the digital world across the board, we’ve benefitted from the recession as brands being pressed to prove return on investment and with digital being the best way to prove this we’ve seen a definite shift towards digital.
We’ve also seen a new push towards niche targeting in the digital world, local is becoming more important with services like The Grid coming into play. This brings us into the next topic of social media, which has definitely grown, in leaps and bounds in 2009 and I think an even more exciting space to be in next year.
Mobile is also another one that made quite a push in 2009. We’ve been predicting it for years and haven’t quite got it right buy 2009 is definitely seeing a lot more attention to that channel as more information is becoming available.
A couple of the other trends were the growth of communication and how disruptive marketing is fast becoming a thing of the past. We’re realising that social influence is more respected by an audience than a distruptive means of marketing that we’re used to.
TDE: What technological advancement appealed to you the most in 2009?
Andrea: I know Twitter has been around for a while and I’ve been part of it since before 2009 and even got bored of it but as the community grew its become an integral part of my daily life. To keep up to date with the latest news, my friends and peer, I find it a very convenient way to pull all the information into one place where I can have a glance at what’s happening in all aspects. Getting information, opinions as well as thoughts and ideas in one place is very beneficial to me.