Dating aside, social discovery is all about creating serendipitous experiences by allowing individuals to find people via similar interests. This mode of finding and connecting via similar interests are surprisingly rare. Even the three main social media platforms lack a solid social discovery tool. LinkedIn is focused on building professional networks and provide profile details that only pertain to job hunting (e.g., education, work experience, etc.). Facebook and Google+’s find friend function is purely based on common connections and not interests. Meanwhile, Twitter only allows searches via known names, handles and more recently hashtags.

More importantly, social discovery based searches will be especially significant within existing organizations such as large corporations and associations. In the age of the 3-year career, employers are scrambling to lower employee turnover and their expensive onboard training costs. Meanwhile associations are losing members to other accreditation organizations in a grossly saturated market. Organizations that will stay ahead in the coming years will be those that can create a sense of belonging for their members. People long to feel part of something in large estranged cities; we just need a platform to enable us to have that small town feel again.

1. Business Analytics for the Masses

Analytics has always been intimidating to the average business owner, but since the introduction of Google Analytics and startups focusing small business analytics (e.g., Hubspot, Optify, Genius), harnessing the power of social media is no longer a daunting task. Going into 2013, we predict that there will be a host of software launched at integrating social media with on-premise and on-demand systems at the store or vendor level. Imagine flash sales dictated by Facebook likes or new weekly items commanded by Twitter.

2. Socializing with your TV

Last year, we witnessed the popularization of social media interacting with television shows and news broadcasts. From tweeting in your questions during the presidential debate, to voting for your favorite chef on Top Chef, to joining in the conversation on Oprah’s Lifeclass, social media has brought TV viewers back to the live TV experience. This coming year, TV will allow viewers more interaction with each other via apps like Zeebox and Miso. And with the recent partnership between Nielsen and Twitter, a new standard for Social TV Audience Metrics will soon be established.

3. The Validity of Mobile Advertising

Everything went to mobile in a big way 2012, but companies such as Facebook still struggled with monetizing mobile advertising. Yet, this space has been saturated with mobile ad networks such as Google’s AdMob, Apple’s iAds, and JumpTap, just to name a few. This new year will usher in real-time mobile ad bidding, hyper-local mobile campaigns, while predictive big data drive analytics will allow for smarter advertising. Imagine, push notifications for products and sales catered specifically to you as you enter your favorite store.