5 minutes on.. tech predictions for the new year

To find out what makes us all tick, which technology and apps we can’t live without, why we love where we work and which places are our favourite hidden treasures.

This week we asked: What are your creative and digital predictions for 2014?

Matt Read, Social Media Manager, Quad London

"Wearable tech is the new kid on the block, however, I can’t see it making a massive impact for another year or so. The one thing I never want to see again is a QR code. No one likes them, no one uses them. If anyone wants to try and debate this with me, please do get in touch. I think what we’ll continue to see grow throughout 2014 is the notion that content is king. Most marketers now have embraced this fact and are dedicating sizable chunks of budget to content marketing. If you’re not, you really should consider it. The other obvious winner for me is mobile. The app market is booming and it’s already proving to be a major force for driving sales and leads for brands."

Alexander Foster, CEO, Race Yourself

"I’d have to say a 'true gamification' wave following the already subsiding 'hype'. Gamification requires good data, an acceptably high difficulty for cheating and a reward structure greatly more intelligent than just 'giving people badges'. Look at an Xbox game or even Clash of Clans - they are so clever at getting you hooked, it's seriously high-tech. There are technical challenges that are holding us back from harnessing that power but also there is just a tonne of self-education for the non-gaming development community. That's why we're hiring straight out of gaming companies!

I also think QR codes will stay. I admit they’re are a bit limited by how much information you can put in them, but in terms of a visual coding, but you can point a camera at one from a metre away and in a quarter of a second it’ll be recognised and processed - thats very valuable. There’s two companies at the moment called Blippr and Layar which are doing augmented reality advertising, allowing brands to animate your ad experience with graphics and effects through your phone. So I can see - maybe not this year, but soon - augmented reality becoming the biggest thing in tech and advertising."

Luke Thomson, Co-founder, ReChannel

"I think this year Google will follow Glass with more hardware, and really establish itself within that market, rivalling companies like Apple. I think Facebook could start to be in danger over the next 12-18 months, and could end 2014 with a profit warning or similar. I also think something fairly major may happen to Yahoo this year - maybe they’ll get bought or go bust, I don’t know."

Ankita Bhargava, Online Marketing Manager, Crab Creative

"I see Facebook on the decline for sure. Google is going to do wonders in 2014. I’m very keen to see how Twitter and new social platforms change (Snapchat is definitely on the rise) We also agree with Google that 2014 will see the start of the digital default where there won’t be any segmentation between PC and mobile devices."

Chris Hassell, Founder, Ralph & Co

"Facebook seems to be on the decline, and clients are already telling us their KPIs aren’t as Facebook focussed. I’d like to see more interesting uses of Instagram. It’s become a bit boring but brands still haven’t cracked it. I think telly will get some proper changes this year, hate to be predictable but probably driven by something Apple does. Wearable tech I don’t quite get yet - very geeky and suddenly gets involved in Fashion, which is more fickle than tech."

Przem Wojcik, Project Manager, Matter Of Form

"I think a lot has the potential to change in 2014 - I think budgets for Facebook marketing will shrink, but the site will still be popular, and I think more and more websites will work towards incorporating mobiles and tablets as navigation tools, to actually bind a phone to a website to create an augmented reality experience. Any website that still can’t cater for mobile devices will definitely be a loser in 2014!"

Luke Faragher, Managing Director, Drawn in Digital

"Fingers crossed that Apple will bring out a wearable, I would love an iWatch and taking your phone out of your pocket for checking notifications is so 2013. I'm just not sure that it will be this year. Everyone is looking at Apple for the next big thing and it will be their first entry into a new area since Tim cook took over. I'm guessing they are going to want this to be spot on before it's released. Fingers crossed though.

I hope they don't bring out iPhones with bigger screens... Part of the reason Apple tanked without Steve Jobs the last time was that they made too many products. When you spread the focus over hundreds of products some of the finer details suffer and could hurt them badly."

Mark McDermott, Creative Director, CodeAgent

"I definitely think the Internet of Things will make mainstream progress in the home, car and wearable categories. Advertising on social platforms will improve (Twitter is still a bit basic but new features keep coming) and get more popular as Adwords is starting to price many out of the market. I also think the "switching off" movement will gather momentum which will mean digital products will need to prove their ongoing usefulness rather than their distractive qualities."

James Sitki, Creative Director, Twentieth Century Boy

"Vine had an incredible start to their campaign in 2013, I can only see that getting stronger this year. Whereas, 2014 could certainly be a definitive one for Apple in general -the start of the decline, or back to its best."