Insights into new media trends on podcasting, social media, and smart speakers

By Mark Schaefer

Every year, I look forward to hearing first-hand insights from Tom Webster on trends in new media that are emerging from his annual research report “The Infinite Dial.”

Every year there are some eye-popping surprises and the 2018 edition does not disappoint. Here are a couple of gems.

• Online audio continues to explode. This suggests that companies need to have a comprehensive audio strategy.
• Podcasting is red-hot. An amazing stat: in 2017 people listened to an average of five podcasts a week. Today it is seven per week. Amazing growth!
• The adoption of smart speakers for the home is growing faster than even smartphones. This is the fastest tech adoption in history.
• Last year, homeS either had an Amazon device or a Google device but this year, 11 percent of speaker households owned both technologies.
• Tom points out that the implications for smart speakers is far beyond mere music devices — there are massive implications for all marketers here.
• Usage of most social media platforms are continuing to rise … except Facebook. Facebook usage dropped for the first time. Tom concludes that we might have hit “peak social.”
• The evolution of YouTube as a music service and a new role it is playing with young kids.
• A hidden reason why people may be abandoning Facebook.
• Why some companies are going with a podcast-first content strategy.
• Insights on how we will interact with tech in the future.

You’re going to love this episode. Check it out:

Click on this link to listen to Episode 125

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Many thanks to our friend Scott Monty for the awesome show intro. Be sure to check out his amazing newsletter The Full Monty and his new podcast available here: fullmontyshow.com.

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Illustration courtesy Flickr CC and European Southern Observatory

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