At the end of 2012 we reflected on how much technology shaped the year, and in many ways 2013 looks to be equally, if not more exciting. Putting existing major players like Facebook, Google and Apple aside there are some emerging businesses worth keeping tabs on to see if they revolutionise the tech world, or fall short of expectations. Will MySpace make a comeback, or will more brands use Viddy as a promotional tool? As digital creatives we are already envisaging ways we could leverage some of these tools in our everyday lives. The Los Angeles Times has complied a list of 10 companies to keep an eye on in 2013. They are listed below.
FourSquare: A location-based social network which has a make or break year ahead. Despite loyal users and valuable location data the company has struggled to raise money in the past. Apple is rumoured to be considering buying FourSquare to improve its mapping software.
Leap Motion: Leap Motion CEO, Michael Buckwald, 25, has said the company is "ready to make 2013 the year of the new interface", and having just secured $30m in funding and partnership from Asus to develop computers with motion sensor technology, is certainly moving in the right direction.
Instagram: Purchased by Facebook last year for US$715m, the online photo-sharing service announced a particularly ill received policy change that would have allowed the use of its member’s photos for advertising purposes. The change received so much backlash that it was scrapped, but it could be likely that we’ll see moves to monetize this app at some point throughout the year.
Square: A cash register designed for modern business, Square is an app that enables users to accept credit card payments via their iPads, iPhones and Android phones with a mobile card reader attachment. Square made headlines last year when it announced a partnership and $25 million investment with coffee chain Starbucks.
MySpace: With a new look and strategic emphasis on artists and music collections, MySpace has so far received positive responses, however 2013 will tell whether this previous darling of the tech world can make a comeback.
Pinterest: Essentially a site where users can ‘pin’ images and URL’s to their digital scrapbooks, Pinterest caters for the vast appetite for visual images on the Web and has analysts speculating that it may end up going public or being purchased by another tech company.
Viddy: Viddy has accumulated more than 40 million users since launching less than two years ago, and as the video equivalent of Twitter or Instagram is predicted to continue in growth as more brands and businesses use short video’s as promotional tools.
Tumblr: Founded by 26 year old David Karp, Tumblr is popular among a younger audience as well as the creative set, and has aimed for raising revenue from $13 million in 2012, to $100 million in 2013.
Yahoo: In the second half of 2012 Yahoo acquired a new CEO, a redesign of its email services and photo sharing service, Flickr, posted increased earnings in the third quarter, with further increase expected for the fourth. It will be interesting to see what 2013 has in store from Yahoo.
Twitter: Twitter had 200 million monthly active users by December 2012, 100 million more than it had in October 2011. Senior analyst at Greencrest Capital, Max Wolff, told Bloomberg that the micro blogging site could be worth as much as $11 billion if it goes public in 2014.