I saw a post on Mashable about tech predictions for 2012, written by editor-in-chief, Lance Ulanoff. The problem with Mashable is that it covers the now (most likely because thats what the masses want to read: what is relevant now). Therefore, Mashable only has insight so far. To have true insight in the future, you need to monitor future trends. Thanks 118id, for that advice. In light of Mashables post, I will make five of my own tech predictions for 2012. Buckle up and get some cantaloupe, because some of this makes 2012 sound juicy.

1. Hardware will begin to Disappear
If there is one thing weve learned, its that the Cloud is in. Cloud computing this, and cloud computing that but what does it all mean Basil? Our friends over at Yottabyte are doing some pretty interesting things. So interesting that even Silicon Valley has its eyebrows perked. With a Cloud computing Operating System that has the capacity to manage 10^24 worth of data seamlessly and quickly, hardware will disappear.Googles Chromebook was just the start, but it could not handle big applications, like Adobe Photoshop. 2012 will change this. All we will need is Wi-Fi to connect to this new cloud, and oh btw, that's just about standard now

2. The New York Subways Interior will Change
There is a phenomenon happening and I talk about it in all my lectures and pitches. I call it channel explosion and device proliferation. Twenty years ago we had print, radio, and TV along with a newspaper, a boombox, and a television. Today we have thousands to tens-of-thousands of channels with hundreds of devices to accompany the change. As end users, we have become on-the-go mobile consumers. Jumping from one device to the next; iPod to iPad to iPhone to TV to Facebook to Twitter to blogs to ads to billboards to flaskdjg;oisdjga;kldfjaf. Since we barely have time for anything, we will need to accomplish our needs, during our everyday transportation. Check out what Tesco is doing in Korea: Grocery on the go. Simply use your smartphone to scan the QR code of the grocery items pictured on the subway walls, get home from work that day and boom. Your groceries are there. Coming to NYC to a subway near you.

3. SEO will become SSEO
Being #1 on Google is extremely important. Public companies like Demand Media have made hundreds of millions playing the Google Game, answering questions, how-to guides, and releasing millions of articles and pieces of content to get to the top of Google. But they pay $15 per article. You cannot write a good, valuable, engaging article for $15. That's just common sense. It will read like shit! With the rise of social media, what we are seeing is that if the content is not something users need (searchable) and Like (sociable), then they will not read it and they will not share it. Today, if they do not share it, Google will not consider it. Therefore, SEO is becoming SSEO: Search and Social Engine Optimization. Social will be a HUGE factor in SEO moving forward, and if you cannot figure out how to integrate both together, you lose. This is one of the reasons why Blue Wheel Media has had such success in the past 7 months.

4. Facebook will Integrate Search as a Core Feature
All year long it has been Google vs. Facebook. Its all out war. There is an INCREDIBLE amount of data Facebook is gathering that is extremely valuable. For the first time ever we have persona valuables. What you like to do, how old you are, who you associate with, what school you go to, your interests, etc., etc. Google is limited to what keywords people search! Hence why they came out with Google+. Google wants the social graph end of story. Everyone is watching Google+. Will it work? Guess what? I dont care. What I do care about is Facebook. What are they doing? Facebook wants the search graph, because if they get it, they have it all. All data, all tied together. Decision and logic algorithms could defer incredible insights with that type of combination. I predict Facebook will release a Google-like search function to deliver us our needs. In 2012 we might be staying within Facebook, all day long, and never leave.

5. The News Will Ooze
Last but not least, is my prediction that the News will Ooze. For years, publishers and news outlets have always been fighting to get the breaking news. Who can break the news first? Some tabloids even pay millions to break stories. But how do you know whats next? What if we could discover the news, before the news happened? Soon, Blue Wheel Media will be able to. As I mentioned in a previous post, we are developing a technology called the Relevancy Meter. We will be able to listen in on the public conversation around the world. Literally zoom in on two people talking. What are they saying? Who are they? Why and where are they saying it? What does it mean and what is going to happen? Our algorithmic approach to understanding content, before it actually happens, will change Content Marketing for brands. We use the tagline, We will have the headline, all we need to do is write the story.

2012 will be an interesting one and I suggest you jump on board.

@trevorjgeorge