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Looking for 10 people, ideas, and technologies which are spicing up the ways we all connect and communicate? Then look no further than the latest Google Quarterly, where Ron Conway founder of Silicon Valley investment firm SV Angel offers his picks, writes Steve Mullins.

For one, there’s collaborative consumption – such as Zipcar for vehicle sharing. “New societal and technological changes are creating online communities built around trust and reputation where users can transact directly with one another, offering flexibility and removing the burden of large fixed costs,” says Conway.

Corporate social responsibility isn’t just a marketing gimmick, and many brands are devoting their entire product offering to doing well by doing good, according to The Big Little Book Of Nexts: Trendspotting for 2012 from Euro RSCG, writes Maria Stadtmueller.

By Steve Mullins. Last week we brought you five trends from JWT’s 10 Trends For 2011 report. We’re not hold-outs – we have five more.

Let’s begin with ‘Retail as the Third Space’. You see, with more people buying online as well as downloading digital versions of physical goods, shopping is becoming as much about experiences, unique environments and customer service as it is about the goods themselves.

By Steve Mullins. All the world’s a game. Who says? That would be JWT in its 10 Trends for 2011 report. “Increasingly, brands will apply game mechanics – leader boards, levelling, stored value, privileges, superpowers, status indicators, etc – to non-gaming spaces in an attempt to drive certain actions or behaviours,” says the agency.

By Steve Mullins. Are women the new men? We’re not asking that particular question, but Euro RSCG is in its latest Prosumer Report, a survey of 600 adults in each of five markets – China, France, India, the UK and the US – with a bias towards millennials.

Gender distinctions are no longer set in stone, the report says, and it makes sense to move away from ‘either/or in favor of ‘and’.

The top Facebook trend in 2010? That would be HMU? Come again. Facebookers really got into adding HMU – hit me up (call me or text me) – to their status updates last year.
More comprehensible was the World Cup, with as many as a half of all status updates referring to the tournament during the [...]

Branded entertainment is set to see huge growth. “It’s no secret – it’s becoming increasingly difficult to reach the consumer via a 30-second advertisement,” says MediaPost. “Even YouTube is now giving the consumer the option to skip a commercial in certain cases. As consumers are given these options, advertisers are going to have to become [...]

Experienced consumers increasingly appreciate brands that are a bit more daring and outspoken, according to Trendwatching. The consumer insights outfit tags this trend ‘maturism’ and says it’s part of a bigger social, namely ‘brand fabric’ which is apparently all about brands pushing boundaries, serving customers, becoming more transparent, delivering authenticity.
“People have grown up immersed in [...]