2016 Social Media Trends
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A comprehensive look at the 2016 social media trends in business and how you can utilize them. A sneak peak into 2017 and how to prepare the marketplace using social media.
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2016 Social Media Trends
- 1. Social Media Trends RACHEL A. ADLER, BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER FOR NATIONAL MARKETING | JUNE 2016 @FairfaxEDA #FCEDA ww.fairfaxcountyeda.org
- 2. Agenda Defining Social Media 2015 Past View 2016 Overview 2017 Predicated Trends @FairfaxEDA #FCEDA
- 3. What is Social Media? Social Media is the future of communication, a countless array of internet based tools and platforms that increase and enhance the sharing of information. This new form of media makes the transfer of text, photos, audio, video, and information in general increasingly fluid among internet users. Social Media has relevance not only for regular internet users, but business as well. @FairfaxEDA #FCEDA
- 4. Where is Social Media? Platforms like twitter, Facebook, and Linkedin have created online communities where people can share as much or as little personal information as they desire with other members. The result is an enormous amount of information that can be easily shared, searched, promoted, disputed, and created. Social Bookmarking tools and news sites such as Digg, Delicious, reddit, and countless others make finding specific information, images, or websites increasingly simple by assigning or “tagging” individual sites with searchable key words. Applications that have developed within and around these platforms, websites, and tools are endless in number and functionality, but all make online sharing and searching easier in some fashion, regardless of their niche. As nearly every type of business has an association in the non-digital world, so too does the internet offer an endless number of niche social communities where members can gather around a common topic. Topics both general and specific now have living homes on the internet; anything from colon and digestive health to security and compliance can and do have active social media communities. The key question now being addressed by an ever growing number of social media “experts” is how to best utilize the unlimited amount of information available from social media sites for business advertising, social good, and who knows what else. One thing is for certain; personal data from social media usage will continue to be tracked and logged for the benefit of any business willing to pay for it, and any company that doesn’t invest in social media now will be playing catch-up in the near future. @FairfaxEDA #FCEDA
- 7. Categories of marketing technology • Marketing Experiences — more specialized technologies that directly affect prospects and customers across their lifecycle, such as advertising, email, social media, SEO, content marketing, A/B testing, marketing apps — the “front-office” of modern marketing. • Marketing Operations — the tools and data for managing the “back- office” of marketing, such as analytics, MRM, DAM, and agile marketing management. • Marketing Middleware such as DMPs, CDPs, tag management, cloud connectors, user management, and API services. • Marketing Backbone Platforms such as CRM, marketing automation, content management, and e-commerce engines. [These are quite different in their application, so need to be reviewed separately]. • Infrastructure services such as databases, big data management, cloud computing, and software development tools. • Internet services such as Facebook, Google, and Twitter that underlie today’s marketing environment. [How you integrate with these key platforms] @FairfaxEDA #FCEDA
- 8. Social Media Trends WHAT TO WATCH OUT FOR IN 2016 & 2017 @FairfaxEDA #FCEDA
- 10. A Short Review of Last Year 2015 The Attention web (death to) Clickbait Storytelling Crowdfunding Content The rebirth of podcasting Video Measurement/ROI Mobile B2B Design @FairfaxEDA #FCEDA
- 12. Social Media Trends 2016 Video will become the native advertising platform of choice. ◦ Social marketers embrace video ◦ 2016 is the year of live video Facebook: ◦ Many marketers are unsure about their Facebook traffic ◦ Marketers will increase their Facebook marketing in 2016 ◦ Facebook is still the most important social platform ◦ Facebook will Dominate However Their Audience Will be Older Exposure is the top benefit of social media for business User privacy concerns will hit an all-time high Word-of-mouth gains traction Real Real-Time Engagement Marketing automation gets social Mobile messaging apps will become an increasingly popular space for customer interaction. Pay to play is here to stay Snapchat is rapidly rising Business gets personal eCommerce becomes surprisingly viable Mobile First Will Become the Norm There Will be a Focus Shift in SEO to Social Media Data-Driven Decisions Digital Marketing Efforts will Increase on Newer Social Media Sites New Options for Publishing Content Online Will Open up Thanks to Instant Articles User Expectations for Content Quality Will Soar Oculus Rift will Change The Way That Marketers Design the Customer Experience ◦ Virtual reality will continue to be a buzz-worthy platform, but don't expect it to have a great ROI. @FairfaxEDA #FCEDA
- 13. What’s Happening Now in 2016 Professional Services are finally waking up ◦ Legal, insurance, account, real estate & middle office. ◦ Business processes are being disrupted. @FairfaxEDA #FCEDA
- 14. Facebook Facebook is constantly evolving and expanding. Now reaching over 1.65 billion monthly active users per month, 1.5 billion of them via mobile device, the equivalent of more than 20,000 users is active on Facebook every second. Facebook is, by far, the biggest social network operating today, and a valuable website for marketers, whether they're promoting a product or service or conducting market research. @FairfaxEDA #FCEDA
- 15. VISUAL MARKETING Drive Interest and Clicks With Simple Imagery Sustain Viewer Interest With a Variety of Visuals Spark Engagement With Fan Photos Create Relevancy With Trends, Events, and Holidays @FairfaxEDA #FCEDA
- 16. Mobile First Will Become the Norm This forecast shows the number of smartphone users in the U.S. from 2010 to 2018. For 2016, the number of smartphone users in the United States is estimated to reach 198.5 million. Source More mobile users than ever, are using their devices to: ◦ Browse Social Media ◦ Access News and Entertainment ◦ Research Products and Make Purchases ◦ Use Navigational Apps ◦ Communicate with Others ◦ View Visual Content Including Videos ◦ Post Comments and Reviews This will only increase in 2016, making it a near impossibility for marketing strategists to avoid focusing on mobile next year, especially touchscreen. ◦ http://impress1.com/feel/infographic/entry/mobile- marketing-infographic @FairfaxEDA #FCEDA
- 17. What’s Happening Now in 2016 Messaging Apps (at the core of social, is messaging) ◦ 3 billion users & counting ◦ Some of the messaging services: ◦ What’s App ◦ FB Messenger ◦ WeChat (large in Asian Pacific regions) ◦ Viber (large in Middle East & Europe) ◦ Line ◦ Kik @FairfaxEDA #FCEDA
- 18. Mobile? What does this mean for Marketers? Mobile devices—especially smartphones, tablets and smartwatches—should be a big part of your focus. This is crucial if you’re targeting millennials, of which 87% admittedt o never being without their smartphone. More importantly, 14% wouldn’t do business with a company that doesn’t have a mobile site or app. @FairfaxEDA #FCEDA
- 19. Mobile Lower income and smartphone-dependent users rely especially heavily on their smartphones for job and employment resources Nearly one-in-three smartphone owners frequently use their phone for navigation or turn-by-turn driving directions; one-in-ten use it frequently for public transit information Younger adults use their smartphones to access a wide range of services and content @FairfaxEDA #FCEDA
- 20. SNAPCHAT Snapchat is a mobile photo/video app that allows user to share “snaps” for up to 10 seconds before it get deleted forever. “Stories” was introduced in Fall 2013 & consists of a series of Snaps. These stores can be viewed for up to 24 hours. Discover was launched in late 2015 and feature brands like ESPN, Buzzfeed, CNN, Vox and more to feature news stories relevant to their fields. Live allows you to follow along with major event by locations or bid price. Geofilter: Whether it's for a house party or wedding, a coffee shop or campus-wide event, Geofilters make it easy for Snapchatters who are there to send your message to friends. @FairfaxEDA #FCEDA
- 21. Snapchat & Advertising How brands have been purchasing Three product sectors—activewear, CPGs and consumer electronics—have accounted for 57 percent of all ads L2 observed on Snapchat Discover, its channel for publishers, from Jan. 15 through Feb. 15. More specifically, the leading brands in each vertical owned the majority—57 percent—of the advertisements L2 saw in Discover. Here's how they break down sector by sector: ◦ Nike (20 percent) led activewear. ◦ Little Debbie (7 percent) was tops among CPGs. ◦ GE Appliances (14 percent) was No. 1 among consumer electronics. ◦ Pepsico (7 percent) stood out in front among beverages. ◦ TRESemme (9 percent) was beauty's frontrunner. @FairfaxEDA #FCEDA
- 22. Snapchat & businesses How SnapChat Converts to Sales: ◦ relationship building ◦ behind the scenes ◦ live events ◦ limited time offers Fun Fact: Cosmo gets 3MM viewers a day via Snapchat
- 23. Instagram (Facebook) vs. Snapchat (the one that got away) @FairfaxEDA #FCEDA
- 24. Mobile, more than just chatting going on… @FairfaxEDA #FCEDA
- 25. What’s Happening Now in 2016 On demand/subscription services ◦ Content consumption is not going away, it is evolving. ◦ Podcasting continue to grows ◦ Streaming Music ◦ iTunes ◦ Pandora ◦ Spotify ◦ Google Play ◦ Amazon ◦ 8Track ◦ Last.FM ◦ Streaming video on-demand (SVOD) subscriptions ◦ Hulu ◦ Roku ◦ Amazon TV ◦ Apple TV ◦ Sling TV ◦ Chromecast (Google/Alphabet) @FairfaxEDA #FCEDA $- $2 $4 $6 $8 $10 $12 $14 2014 2015E 2016E 2017E 2018E 2019E Billions Year Streaming Video Subscription Revenue (US)
- 26. Real Real-Time Engagement Social media thrives on real-time engagement, but each year the window for response becomes smaller and smaller. According to Search Engine Watch, 70% of Twitter users expect a response from brands they reach out to, and 53% want a response in less than an hour. That number jumps to 72% when they’re issuing a complaint. In 2014, consumers complained about brands 879 million times on social media. What’s worse is that in 2015, brands still weren’t responding as 7 in 8 messages to them went unanswered within 72 hours. @FairfaxEDA #FCEDA
- 27. Social Commerce The more engaged your customers are, the better your sales. Over the last couple of years, we’ve seen social media play a crucial role in this area. In fact, in 2014, total US sales that could be tracked to social media reached $3.3 billion. More recently, research found social influences more shoppers’ buying decisions than retail websites. Compelling stats like the one above has led to the creation of more commerce-focused features for marketers and advertisers. For example, in 2015: ◦ Facebook introduced 360 Ads for immersive experiences. ◦ YouTube added 360 Ads for more impactful visuals. ◦ Instagram rolled out its action-oriented ad format. ◦ Pinterest announced the limited rollout of its Buyable Pins. ◦ Twitter continued testing its Buy button. @FairfaxEDA #FCEDA
- 28. Live Streaming Video Social media allows for communication between brands and customers, but live stream goes a step further, revealing a much more authentic side of your business. It’s unedited, unfiltered and shows that you’re not just reading off of a cue card. People spend 3x longer watching video which is Live compared to video which is no longer Live Periscope: ◦ Owned by Twitter ◦ Available on iOS and Android ◦ 2 million daily active users ◦ 40 years worth of live video is watched daily ◦ Available in 25 languages Facebook Live: ◦ Owned by Facebook ◦ Available on iOS and Android ◦ The number of videos posted per person increased by users increased by 75% in 2015 ◦ Video posts have 135% greater organic reach than photo posts ◦ Facebook generates 8 billion video views on average per day Meerkat: ◦ Available on iOS and Android ◦ 2 million registered users ◦ More than 100,000 videos streamed ◦ Available in one language @FairfaxEDA #FCEDA
- 29. The Internet of Things & Wearables Connecting Everything Connected Home: ◦ The Rise of AI (Artificial Intelligence): ◦ Death of Siri ◦ Google Assistant & Amazon’s Alexa battle to take over your living room @FairfaxEDA #FCEDA Wearable Technology: ◦ AR (Augmented Reality) ◦ VR (Virtual Reality) ◦ Fashion ◦ Health ◦ Enterprise
- 30. What’s Happening Now in 2016 Just in time learning: ◦ Microlearning ◦ MOOCs ◦ Lynda.com (LinkedIn) ◦ Mozilla OpenBadges ◦ Coursera ◦ Udacity ◦ AppAcademy ◦ edX ◦ Make School ◦ General Assembly ◦ Accreditation ◦ Future earnings tuition ◦ Knowledge-of-demand ◦ Axonify ◦ OpenTable ◦ SkillShare @FairfaxEDA #FCEDA
- 31. What’s Happening Now in 2016 Ad Blocking ◦ 45MM average monthly active users in the US (Q2 2015) Tracking & Privacy ◦ $28.1B ad revenue blocked (Technology Review) ◦ Google bends to European pressure on right to be forgotten rule http://on.wsj.com/1KeKTx6 via @WSJ @FairfaxEDA #FCEDA
- 32. What’s Happening Now in 2016 Photo sharing: ◦ Storytelling at it’s finest ◦ Flickr ◦ Canva ◦ Instagram ◦ SnapChat ◦ FB Messenger/FB Status ◦ Google Photos ◦ Post-literate society ◦ 360 Degree Video ◦ Ties into geolocation and service layers ◦ “A fuller storytelling experience” – Facebook ◦ Virtual Reality ◦ It’s coming, but is still years away from being anything but niche. Niche community means niche design, diversity is an imperative if mass adoption is sought ◦ Google Goggles (Virtual Reality) ◦ Google Field Trip (Augmented Reality) ◦ Virtual Reality & Simulation ◦ Gaming ◦ Content Creator ◦ Military ◦ Architecture ◦ Emergency Response PSA: Virtual Reality ≠ Augmented Reality @FairfaxEDA #FCEDA
- 33. 2017 Digital Marketing Trends 1. Brands Will Shift Focus Towards Messaging Apps (Goolge’s Allo & Duo) | Automation & ChatBots 2. Live Video: Facebook Live Goes Mainstream; Periscope & SnapChat lead the way 3. Instagram Will Never Be the Same; Instagram Ads Catch Up to Facebook and Twitter 4. Increasing Pressure on Social Marketers to Prove ROI 5. Niche Marketing 6. VR/AR – Daydream (Google) & Smasung 7. The Rise of Artificial Intelligence & virtual assistants. @FairfaxEDA #FCEDA Image from Nic Newman of The Reuters Institute
- 34. 2017 Big Trend: Artificial Intelligence Google Home and Assistant will kick Amazon and Apple to the curb. ◦ Death of Siri (#ByeFelicia) ◦ Amazon Echo & Alexa will struggle ◦ Say hello to Google Home – already will be integrated with Nest and other products. Synced with phone & google accounts. WHAT COMPANY DO YOU TRUST MOST TO ALWAYS BE LISTENING INSIDE YOUR HOME? ◦ MICROSOFT ◦ APPLE ◦ SAMSUNG ◦ SONOS ◦ GOOGLE ◦ AMAZON ◦ NOBODY @FairfaxEDA #FCEDA
Notas do Editor
- Long-running landscape is produced by Scott Brinker of ChiefMartec and chair of our MarTech event. It began in 2011 with 150 companies listed. Last year, it had grown to 2,000. This year, it nearly doubled from that to the 3,500 mark, spread among these six major categories: Advertising & Promotion Content & Experience Social & Relationships Commerce & Sales Data Management http://marketingland.com/infographic-marketing-technology-landscape-113956
- http://www.smartinsights.com/managing-digital-marketing/marketing-innovation/marketing-technology-2014/ Media, Entertainment Marketers Ramp Up Digital Efforts - eMarketer https://shar.es/1dcEdk via @eMarketer
- Interactive Content Engaging with your audience is the most important thing to look after in 2016. Some say that the content is already engaging enough, however that is not true. Most of the content does not get that high number of shares or replies, which means that a more interactive content will have to be created. People’s hunger for high quality useful content is ever growing, and if you do not find a way of giving them what they want, they might as well switch to another business or channel. So think about videos, quizzes, surveys, calculators, contests, anything that will get their attention. Competition is Rising If you thought that 2015 was a tough year, wait to see this one. With more brands shifting right on the horizon, getting and reaching your target audience will be tougher than ever. More and more people will bid for the same words in the Google search, and the channel’s efficiency will be driven down. Facebook is no difference, for thousands of people advertise their products and services, and all are competing for the front page. With this in mind, you will have to come up with a better way of reaching your target audience, and avoid the competition in the process. The Year of Personalisation Now that you have more information about your customers, you can start personalizing your emails, newsletter content, homepages and even imagery. The whole point is to dial a true message, one that will convey your meaning and in the same time reach your customer and make them feel special. Those copy-pasted emails will not be enough to satisfy their needs in 2016, and as a marketing sleuth, you will have to work harder and dedicate a bit more time to satisfying each and every need of your customers. If you are lacking ideas on how to do it, seek help at customer.io and find a way of personalizing your content. Customer Data Segmentation Collecting all that data throughout 2015 was not enough, for now it is time to sit down and analyze all that has been collected. Marketers will have a huge responsibility of going through each and every segment in hope of finding something that will uncover new trends and ways of satisfying your customer’s needs. This requires valid and improved data segmentation and analysis tools, which never came cheap. In case you do not know how to use it, learning straight away will bring you a huge advantage over your competition. Automation has Started Basically, automation will allow you to segment and personalize your marketing content and tactics at scale. Automation will also connect all parts of a single corporation, making them learn from each other. Start automating slowly, and automate only those marketing tasks that look promising. Do not spend your resources on a non-essential marketing task. Content Distribution Having all those written content does not make it sell. In fact, if it is everything you are offering, it might just not be enough. It is probably a fact that you do not have a large community of followers to support your amplification. So in 2016, it is your job to create a paid distribution plan to make sure you are still in the game. The only way of doing it is by testing millions different amplification channels until you find the right one. Once you do, you can rank them by their efficiency and spend your money accordingly. Mobile World As many of you have notices, more and more websites are optimizing their content for mobile users, and more and more businesses are creating their own apps. Having an app is very important for the business, for you can easily contact and engage your customers with it. If your business does not have one, now would be the perfect moment to create it. By using an online mobile app builder, you can create one without any technical knowledge. Once it is created, simply put it out there and promote it in any way you can. Make sure you let all your current customers know that you now have an app, and build yourself a community. When you achieve that, you will use your app for communication with your customers, sale of products and special promotions. Video ads In 2016, Google search might start indexing and search. This will be a major thing for all of you out there who are paying decent amount of money for video ads. This is one way of marketing that will continue to grow and expand to the unknown. Static ads are a thing of history, and video ads are outperforming almost any other type of promotion. But, optimizing videos for your business promotion is not an easy task, and learning how to do it might require some time. However, hiring an expert in this area might just do the trick. Hybrid Advertising More and more successful companies started creating hybrid ads with an engaging content. Having this in mind, the only way to compete with such competition is to start doing it yourself. Media sites are getting content in such rates that they are constantly working on putting it out there. It is a flourishing business, one that has to be seized while it has not become trend. Start creating hybrid ads, and engage your customers in a way never seen before. Buy Button Believe it or not, but it is estimated that in 2016, the “buy button” will receive more clicks than ever before. Putting them on social media sites like Faceboom, Pinterest and Twitter will be the right thing to do. Once you give your customers the ability to buy something straight away, they will give it a try. It serves to prolong the communication between you and your customers. Do not be skeptical about using it, this is the right time to do it, and 2017 might already be over it. Many digital marketing trends will evolve, many will (re)appear out of nowhere; it is your job as a marketer to seize the opportunity and beat your competition before the race has even begun.
- Average revenue per user usually abbreviated to ARPU
- http://www.inc.com/anna-hensel/what-to-watch-2016-social-media-trends.html
- ● IP ● Legal Services ● Online Dispute Resolution ● Litigation Case Management ● Document Assembly ● Public Document databases & data analysis ● Job & Resume sites ● Virtual Staffing ● Mergers & Acquisitions ● Law Practice Management Subject Matter Solutions/Tools ○ Divorce ○ Immigration ○ Construction Claims ○ Bankruptcy ○ End of Life ● Middle Office ○ Marketing & Costs ● Legal Help ○ Q&A ● E-signatures/Agreements ● Billing ● Law school education applications
- http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/4-ways-visual-content-improves-social-media-results/?awt_l=5OXak&awt_m=3jFbvNtN_Ir.ILT
- What’s App FB Messenger WeChat and Viber Line Kik
- In the battle for digital relevance, three brick-and-mortar department stores are leading the way, according to a new report from L2. Nordstrom, Macy's and Sears achieved "genius status," the highest of five rankings in the report. Also performing well, in the second-highest "gifted" category, were Marks & Spencer, JCPenney, Bloomingdale’s, Kohl’s, Saks Fifth Avenue, John Lewis, Nieman Marcus, House of Fraser, Debenhams and Net-a-Porter. The research firm studied how top department stores stack up in terms of e-commerce, mobile and social media and found digital performance varies widely among stores. It analyzed brands based on more than 850 data points, including loyalty programs, merchandising, search, social media following, and mobile app functionality. The brands were ranked on a five-point scale, falling into five categories: feeble, challenged, average, gifted and genius. Stores in the middle of the pack—with an "average" ranking—include Lord & Taylor, Harrods, Hudson’s Bay, Barney’s New York, Dillard’s and Bergdorf Goodman. Bon-Ton, Myer, Intermix, Shinsegae, Century 21, Von Maur, and The Galleria are among the "challenged" brands. At the bottom of the list are Brown Thomas, Hyundai, Fenwick, Daslu, Rym, and Liverpool, among others. Department stores are expected to grow 22 percent globally over the next five years, and one key to success is enhancing traditional retail campaigns with effective digital marketing strategies, per the findings. In terms of mobile, most department store chains seem to at least have a consistently-updated app. Seventy-seven percent of the brands analyzed have an iPhone app while 46 percent have an Android version. About three-fourths of the iPhone apps are set up for shopping and 49 percent list product reviews. Eighty-two percent of iPhone apps include social sharing and 76 percent use push notifications.
- 1 million active mobile social users are added every day
- One of the key strategies marketers need to implement in 2016 is faster response times. Thanks to advances made to social listening andautomation tools, if you’re not quick to respond one of your competitors might be. Social media is moving fast, and if your business has a presence on any of the platforms then you’re expected to keep up.
- In 2016, you’ll want to explore more ways how you can integrate these features into your social media and content strategies. For inspiration, keep an eye out this holiday season to see how businesses use them.
- http://sproutsocial.com/insights/social-media-trends/ http://www.socialmediatoday.com/marketing/top-5-facebook-video-statistics-2016-infographic
- a political statement? a backlash to bad UX?
- VR Intelligence conference had 500 attendees. Not huge for a conference, but that will certainly grow in the next few years. http://vr-intelligence.com/vrxusa/conference-attendees.php http://qz.com/192874/is-the-oculus-rift-designed-to-be-sexist/ http://www.danah.org/papers/sexvision.pdf
- As advertisers continue to double-down on social, more and more users are retreating from these networks and moving to messenger apps. The rise of Facebook Messenger, Slack, and WhatsApp speaks to this transition. Live video has been a player on social for some time now. We know about the Blabs, the Periscopes, the Meerkats… but none of them have emerged as the go-to live-streaming provider. However, Facebook Live is here and ready to claim that title. We’re already seeing brands wade into the waters of Facebook Live (The Cut is just one of the brands to get in on the action at the Met Ball this past weekend). A flick of my best friend’s new doodle-puppy smashed between Drake’s album artwork and the newest line of Glassybabys? No longer. Instagram is changing their feed, doing away with the old chronological model and adopting a new algorithm that prioritizes content based on its relevance to the user’s interests. We can expect a massive push from brands as they aim to crack the code on this photo feed. Social media is growing up, and executives are growing tired of metrics like impressions and engagement. In fact, according to the 2015 CMO Survey, only 15% of CMOs say they can prove the quantitative impact of social media. Facebook and Twitter still hold the majority of digital marketers’ dollars, with 84% and 65% of companies creating ads on each platform. Source: eMarketer However, according to eMarketer, the percentage of companies investing in Instagram Ads is expected to jump from 32% to 48%, meaning Instagram will surpass Twitter.
- https://www.emarketer.com/public_media/docs/eMarketer_Social_Network_Usage_StatPack_2016.pdf http://on.emarketer.com/StatPack-20160512-Social-Network-Usage-thankyou.html?aliId=323061407 http://simplymeasured.com/blog/these-5-things-will-happen-to-social-marketing-by-2017 I want privacy. Deep down I know it’s important, so much so that on my home continent of Europe it’s a fundamental right. I’m just not very good at safeguarding it. A year ago, right after Google I/O 2015, I was struggling with the idea of migrating to the just-announced Google Photos in exchange for “free” unlimited storage. I use scare quotes because I’m fully aware that I’m the product in this transaction. Nevertheless, I tested it for a few months, slowly adding more and more photos until I eventually pulled the trigger and committed to the service — as have 200 million other people. Now, thanks to Google I/O 2016, I’m faced with a new conundrum: Google Home. Do I really trust Google enough to place its data-gathering appliance in my living room, where it’ll always be on and always be listening? THE RISK IS THEORETICAL, THE BENEFIT IS REALI still have my reservations with Google Photos, but the service is so damn good compared to everything else in its class that I’m willing to risk exposure in exchange for the value I receive. After all, the risk is theoretical, but the benefit of using the service is real. It’s just that now I’m at Google’s mercy to secure my photos from hacks, and to not use them, or the data it gleans, in nefarious ways. I'm sure I'll rationalize the purchase of an AI-driven personal assistant in the same way. You may argue that Android and iOS phones are already listening, patiently waiting for an "Okay, Google" or "Hey, Siri" to kick into action. But phones are personal and not equipped with powerful microphone arrays and far-field voice recognition technology. While my phone can pick up my voice when it’s nearby and not inside my pocket or bag, Google Home, or Amazon’s Echo for that matter, can pick up conversations from anywhere in the room, even with my wife and kids. And once hooked, the companies want us to place their mics in every room of the house. It all sounds so ominous. Right now it’s only Amazon and Google who've built such sophisticated personal assistants for the home. But Microsoft’s Kinect is also listening, as are Samsung TVs. And how long before Apple and Microsoft offer their own personal assistants for Siri and Cortana? Hell, even Sonos is looking to get in on the action. Personally, I think I'll wait to see what Apple and Sonos do since I'm already living inside that ecosystem. But what about you? When the day comes that you willingly place internet-attached microphones into every room of the house? Which company will you trust with the responsibility?