Unpredictable

Unpredictable. This is a word that I have been using to describe pretty much everything that is in the future. Whether that is technology, school, athletics, and even the government, the future of subjects like the ones I listed is unpredictable. Unless you have special magic powers like Raven Baxter from the show "That's so Raven" and can see the future, there is no way you can really know what is coming next.

Per usual, lets start with a rowing example to get the ball rolling. I have been rowing for about 6 years now, I have rowed under several coaches at different camps and different teams at different levels of intensity. I would say that I am close to knowing pretty much everything there is to know about rowing... I mean it practically consumes my life so one could only hope that I know what I am doing.

A nicer version of the old school water erg

However, this sport never ceases to amaze me and its new advances in injury prevention, equipment and new technique to increase a teams speed. One specific example is the machine that we row on called an ergometer or also known as an erg. This machine mimics the rowing motion we do on the water, while producing numbers that tell us the power per stroke, strokes per minute and more. When this was first created it was made of wood part metal and used water as the resistance. The future of the erg now involves using your phone as a monitor and being able to save your workouts on your phone. It also will have a holographic videos of someone rowing at the same speed you are erging on any body of water of your choosing.

The future of rowing, a high tech ergometer

As a Gen-z mixed with a little bit of Millennial I would like to say I know everything there is to know about social media platforms. However after starting my social media class, I have learned that I am wrong, and there is still much more I need to know. That does not account for my knowledge about social media in the future, as social media is in a constant state of flux. With constant updates, new features, and algorithm of changes it is definitely hard to stay up to date with the latest social media trends. Chelsea McDonald, senior social media strategist at DEG Digital describes social media trends perfectly, "The trends are just that for a reason; it's what's popular and happening right now, which was not popular two weeks ago and will be dead two months from now." If we reflect back to different social media platforms we have used in the past we think where are they now? A few examples I like to throw out include: MySpace, AOL, Peach, and Vine. However, these platforms used to be all the rage back in the day, what was once popular is now dead, and no longer being used. Currently we are seeing a trend of decreasing use of Facebook after the privacy scandal was leaked, and increase use of Instagram. Instagram is currently coming out with new features every few months to give it the competitive advantage over Facebook and even twitter. Stories, sponsored filters and more recently, Instagram TV (IGTV) has been giving them edge of popularity over other platforms that businesses use for marketing. IGTV is a vertical video application where users can watch long-form video from popular Instagram creators. The application isn't a popular medium for advertising yet, but marketers should keep an eye on the platform for future opportunities. Like I said, these new features have not yet been used to its full potential, but it's crucial that advertisers make the transition to these mediums.

This graphic shows what platforms marketers found success in and are planning to use again and which ones they did not find work for their brand and will not use again.