

Ask HN: The Big Trends - photon_off

I'm curious -- what does HN think are the "big trends" in the digital space right now, or in the near future?  I've seen a lot of ideas shot down, deconstructed, etc (eg: Groupon, AirBNB), and frankly the only things I recall seeing strong support for are coding libraries.<p>So, what do you think the current and next big trends in the digital space are?  Cars that drive themselves?   "Taking offline online" (Groupon, LS, etc)?  Local ads?  Personalized recommendations? Bitcoin (lol)?
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curt
Really think the next batch of big companies are going to be those that bridge
the digital-physical divide. Seamlessly integrating physical products into the
digital world. It'll start off in the entertainment space (there are a couple
already) and then branch out into other areas. The problem, there aren't many
people that have experience in both web based and physical product areas.

Also I'm waiting on the mobile and social game companies to take their brands
into the physical world with television, merchandising, movies, and everything
else. Huge opportunities to build continuing long-term brands. Hollywood is so
risk adverse, if you can bring a proven property to multiple media types with
a known market, it's a no brainer.

There are also huge opportunities in the developing world, they rely far more
heavily on mobile devices which presents a huge opportunity.

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wallacrw
I don't think we've yet exhausted all of the opportunities that collective
action has brought. Obviously, we believe in crowdfunding at CivicSponsor, but
I think it's a demonstration of the potential for (as the previous commenter
discussed) integrating online interactions with the real world.

Check-ins sort of got us there, crowdfunding is a step closer. Anything that
draws real connections that have value from the easy-to-create online
connections that social networks offer has the potential to be huge. I'd say
Groupon and AirBnB are really part of that trend, and I don't think it's over
just yet.

