Insights

Smart collection of insights for ad agencies to think about and absorb from Fred Wilson of New York’s VC firm Union Square Ventures.

Here are some of the mega-trends Fred thinks will shape the future of technology and where he is placing Union Square’s bets — the list itself is instructive.

Transition to technology-driven networks from bureaucratic hierarchies. His examples include Twitter replacing newspapers – crowd as reporter and editor; YouTube facilitates video creation; SoundCloud allows us all to be all audio creators. More? Codeacademy and Kickstarter.

Unbundling as in how products and services are delivered. Buy just what you want. Industries going through unbundling… banking (Lending Club, Funding Circle); asset management services; education (from classic university model to live streaming and physical libraries to tablets); research (Science Exchange.); entertainment (from bundled cable to Hulu and Chromecast and )

Smart Phones. We can do everything on our phone. We are all nodes on the network — we are all connected all of the time. Examples: Transportation via Uber; payments ala Square and Dwolla.

These are some of the areas that ad agencies need to be thinking through. Shifting trends will shape the ever shifting advertising and design world. if you are not thinking ahead you will not make it.