Technology is evolving swiftly. So it’s little surprise that 2012 will go down as a year that saw technology tighten its grip on the imagination of the U.S. public. Everything from the way the election was covered to the way consumers tackled their holiday shopping was impacted by technology this year. And 2013? That looks to be one more big year in technology.Here’s a look back at the tech trends of this past year and look toward what could be the big tech stories of 2013.
Obama’s grip on election tech
The 2012 presidential election was supposed to be a nail biter. At the end of the day it wasn’t. Pres. Obama won reelection with more than 300 Electoral College votes, turning away a late challenge by opponent Mitt Romney. Part of the credit has to go to Obama’s superior polling technology, called Narwhal. Obama knew which voters he had to attract. And he centered on those voters with laser-like precision throughout the election campaign. Romney’s vaunted Project Orca, meant to serve as a massive get-out-the-vote machine for Romney, ended up as an epic failure. Orca even crashed during election day, dealing a significant setback to a campaign that had been already struggling. Technology also transformed how newspapers and Blogs reported about the election. During the 2012 campaign, candidates were fact-checked almost instantly during debates and campaign speeches by reporters and fact-checkers using Twitter. It’s safe to say that neither candidates nor reporters will view election campaigns in the same manner.
Drones
The United States’ growing dependence on unmanned Predator drones to battle terrorists become a significant, and controversial, tech story in 2012. Drones made headlines in 2012 as they continually killed terrorist targets. Supporters say that the drones enable the government to focus on dangerous terrorists without putting soldiers in harm’s way. Critics say that the drones all too often claim civilian lives along with those of terrorists. Other critics wonder whether the us government might use drones to spy on its own citizens. What’s not debated? That unmanned drones are not going away.
The coming year
What can shoppers expect to see tech-wise within the coming year? More. That’s more consumers embracing mobile computing, turning off their desktop PCs and surfing the net, sending e-mail messages, texting, reading books, watching movies and enjoying music on tablets and powerful smart phones. More also means that consumers will continue to open their wallets for the most advanced technology. Tablets and smart phones were sizzling sellers during the recently concluded holiday shopping season. Count on seeing even more of these mobile devices under Christmas trees next year. And lastly, more means technology will spread to a growing group of emerging countries. Expect developing countries to flock to social media, laptops and mobile devices as these technologies gradually become available to them. People like technology, irrespective of where they live.