A lot happened in the digital world in 2021:
In addition, artificial intelligence has further automated all of our lives. But what is in store for us this year?
2021 was the year of the NFTs. They arrived in the mainstream and exploded in the digital world. Artists generated vast sums of money; for example, the US artist Beeple received a staggering $69 million for the artwork “Every day” . Even in 2022, there will be no interruption, and established names and brands will continue to use the digital sphere. But in contrast to last year, lesser-known artists will also increasingly participate in the NFT economy. After all, it offers artists incredible advantages.
In addition to artists, consumers will also gain more confidence in acquiring NFTs as a safe investment in 2022 – a game-changing development. Because NFTs offer enormous opportunities for artists, as we were able to determine last year through our collaboration with four NFT artists. NFTs open up more room for maneuver, better control, and fairer payment for their authors.
However, the new digital experience also brings challenges. After all, integrating new elements such as music is complicated and raises many questions about contracts, royalties, and ownership rights. For this reason, we expect that this year technologies and organizations will react and offer appropriate solutions to support the creative process.
Ready for buzzword of the year 2022? Although the Metaverse has been around for several years, it has only been limited to a small, niche audience. That should change now because billion-euro companies are currently encouraging their users to scale to the next level of the digital world. Facebook, in particular, has put the Metaverse on everyone’s lips with its recent rebranding as Meta Platforms. The result: Almost everyone now knows the virtual world, and numerous companies want to be part of it. According to an analysis by Bloomberg , the value of the Metaverse is now even estimated at around 800 billion dollars.
So this year, the Metaverse will continue to assert itself. The virtual world aims to encourage users to create their own spaces and experiences individually tailored to them. Whether meeting friends in a pub or holding a virtual team meeting, the possibilities are exciting and endless. And companies will also start to expand into the Metaverse and offer their products and services there. For those who do well, this will provide a new lucrative source of income.
The technology will play a role in the software and the hardware because VR headsets and smart glasses are crucial to making the Metaverse experience authentic. We can certainly expect some exciting innovations in this area over the next 12 months.
Over four million Germans currently have a second job . We expect this proportion to continue to rise into 2022, especially given the high level of uncertainty in sectors such as hospitality, events, and tourism. Many people will want to spread their risk by creating multiple earning opportunities. We expect significant growth, especially in digital content creation and the influencer industry.
The results of our recent YouGov study together with Fanbase confirm this prediction. Almost a third (28 percent) of Gen Z earn their primary income from creating digital content or are currently working toward it. This corresponds to around 2.25 million young people. Therefore, the creative industry can overtake the automotive sector with about 809,000 employees in the next few years. The growth in the digital world is strong, and so in 2022, content creation will also become an essential part of business life – with almost a fifth (18 percent) of those surveyed, the new dream job is content creation.
And this is also understandable. Because it’s about a lot of money, the content marketing market will grow by approximately $269 billion by 2024. The reasons: On the one hand, numerous companies are investing even more budget and time in social media work and are beginning to enter the Metaverse world. On the other hand, the barriers to entry for content creators are relatively low: All you need is an internet-enabled device, WiFi, and a good idea or a talent or interest that other people would like to consume.
For this reason, companies will continue to work closely with influencers in 2022 to leverage their existing channels and followers and have digital content created for them to use under their brand names, such as photos, videos, and music.
AI already has a significant impact on many aspects of our daily lives, from Netflix recommendations to online banking. In the future, it will improve our experience even further and help many people work more efficiently and be more productive – an important development as our society is currently facing many challenges. As part of the Corona crisis, the government is imposing restrictions on social life and lockdowns; there are delays in supply chains and the resulting lack of product availability. This means that companies will turn to artificial intelligence more than ever to overcome these obstacles.
AI will continue to be a powerful tool for analyzing consumer behavior and enabling more informed decision-making related to marketing and sales strategies. After all, with increasing pressure on supply chains, AI offers crucial insights by accurately predicting what products consumers want and need. This contributes significantly to better product availability for companies.
On the other hand, it will also enhance the trends above, like NFTs and the Metaverse, by allowing users to use technology to create customized experiences and spaces tailored to their needs and tastes. In addition, it will also contribute to solving problems in these areas, such as the licensing problem of music. This enables companies and individuals to create royalty-free music for their social media channels, websites, and marketing materials.
We are in the first month of an exciting new year. Not only persistent trends such as NFTs or artificial intelligence will continue to shape the coming months. New industries and such issues as the creator economy are becoming increasingly important, and the metaverse hype will undoubtedly keep us busy. The course for the four digital trends has been laid. Now it is time to create suitable solutions, products, and offers.
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