Finalizing the Research

Images added, research paper compiled, proofread, edited, and designed.

Final steps: adding APA style sources and creating title page.

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All Sections Filled Out!

Just finished filling out the last two sections, Others and Visual Content.

Others contains short information about more visual networks, which did not make it to my list of the biggest and most significant, but were still worth a mention.

Visual Content features a list of suggestions for content which would do well on the Visual Web, and have a chance of going viral.

The Sources section, which has been growing with each new post, is also close to completion - sources just need to be cited in APA format.

Next steps - add images, edit, proofread and compile all the sections into the final Trend Research paper!

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FP me Section Filled Out

Getting to the final stages of this research, I am still getting some quite interesting insights. I enjoyed writing about FP me and bespoke social networks.

Next, I will shortly discuss a list of other networks that can be classified as visual, and finally, suggest content that would perform well on any network or website in the age of the visual web.

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Instagram Section Filled Out

Moving forward with the research. I have already covered the three visual networks which I consider the biggest and most important for the Visual Web: Pinterest, Tumblr and Instagram.

In the upcoming week, I will cover an insteresting example of a bespoke visual social network: FPme. I will also briefly discuss a range of other networks that fit in the visual category: We Heart It, Dribble, Behance, and DeviantArt, among others.

Finally, I will compile a list of engaging visual content to be used on blogs and company websites.

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Tumblr Section Filled Out

I have been researching Tumblr and I have enough information now to start writing about it. So, I filled out the Tumblr section here with a summary of the information, sources included.

I learned quite interesting things while doing this research, especially in terms of SEO benefits.

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Pinterest Section Filled Out

I created sections on my blog for each channel that I will be exploring in detail. They can be viewed in the top navigation bar, just above this post!

Today I filled out the Pinterest section (more information will be added soon). In the coming days, I will also be filling out the rest of the sections.

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Picking Main Channels to Work With

I decided to list the channels I will be exploring.

For each channel, I will first look into how it works and who does it target. Afterwards, I will find out the growth rate and general date about its users (gender, age, location, etc.) Finally, I will explore marketing techniques suitable for this channel and come up with practical examples.

So here is the list:

- Pinterest
- Instagram
- Tumblr
- WeHeartIt
- Dribble
- FPme
- Behance/DeviantArt

The first three (Pinterest, Instagram and Tumblr) are the biggest viusal web channels, to which I will devote most time. WeHeartIt is a less-known, but still powerful visual network, which would be interesting to look at as well. Dribble is a more specific network, designer-only.

FPme is a very interesting example to explore. It's an endeavor by Free People, a fashion brand from the US, who made their own visual social network - where girls can upload instagram-like photos with the brand clothes. Amazingly clever marketing on many different levels.

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List of Sources

I gathered a preliminary list of sources for my Visual Web Trend Research.

The list will prbably expand as I go on.

Besides this list, I will also be consulting people working in the industry.

 http://readwrite.com/2013/12/18/visual-web-2013-trends#awesm=~oznTfVyDdB2Glf
 http://readwrite.com/2013/10/24/pinterest-tumblr-instagram-visual-web#awesm=~oznTlItz1Yw3XL
 http://socialmediatoday.com/irfan-ahmad/1919371/exponential-growth-visual-web-infographic
 http://www.forbes.com/sites/lorikozlowski/2013/12/11/in-image-advertising-how-to-monetize-the-visual-web/
 http://www.getuptospeed.biz/the-visual-web/
 http://www.slideshare.net/therabbitagency/the-visual-web
 http://gigaom.com/2013/07/02/three-truths-about-the-visual-web-we-can-learn-from-we-heart-it/
 http://www.chicagonow.com/digital-media-curator/2013/12/2014-will-be-known-as-the-year-of-the-visual-web/

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Changing Topics

I was advised to rethink the topic of my trend research, as it might prove to be too narrow. Thus, I expanded it to Visual Web Marketing.

Now, besides Pinterest, I will also explore channels such as Instagram, Tumblr, WeHeartIt, Dribble and maybe even DeviantArt and Behance.

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Starting Out

I put a lot of thought and consideration into the topic of my trend research. Since all of my work right now is very specialized in to categories - web design and online marketing - the research had to fit into one of them. Also, I wanted it to be about something that I enjoy.

So I picked Pinterest Marketing. It is something I have been experimenting with on my own for some time now. It is a new and narrow marketing niche, but quite powerful in my opinion.