Wondering what the trends will be in the Digital world next year?

Here are some ideas from around the web:

1. Facebook Replaces Personal Email (via Marketing Charts)

2. More Flash, Not Less (via Marketing Charts)

3. Brands Must Become More Social Online (via DesignDamage)

4. Marketing Platform Extends to Mobile, Social, and Local in Real-Time (via DesignDamage)

5. Open source software starts making proper money, thanks to the cloud (via Branding Strategy)

Click on the above links to see the lists in their entirety.

What trends do you think will take place in 2010?

Social Media is fun. It’s a great way to socialize, stay informed, connect and share. But if you are wanting to limit your time on it and still keep your pulse on things,  and you aren’t using a social media application, you are going to spin your wheels and end up not getting much done.

In the last year, several applications have been released that allow you to keep track of Twitter, Facebook and other outlets all in one place, removing the need to visit many different sites. This increases your productivity by allowing you to search for specific topics and create specific groups that are most relevant to you.

Several to look at:

AlertThingy: Also allows you to integrate business social media sites, such as Yammer and Huddle.

Skimmer: a brand new (released 3/24) addition to the streaming social media sites, it also incorporates YouTube and flickr and Blogger.

If you are looking for a browser that incorporates social media, try Flock. Powered by Mozilla, it is a fantastic browser for anyone with a heavy social media life. All of your social media sites can be updated from within the browser sidebar. There are many extensions that make it even more useful.

If you want to be a part of helping develop the newest applications, SocialThing! is currently in private beta, so if you want to give it a try, shoot them a message.

What have you implemented to make social networking more efficient? Share your advice in comments.

(photo pilipala9)

Welcome! I hope that you will enjoy your visit and return to MMM often.

I’m always late to the party (actually, last year I managed to be the very first person on the UBP Mr. Linky. But that was an exception), so let me just jump right in with my intro:

I am Karla, the founder of Modern Media Mom. I’ve been blogging at my (neglected) personal blog, Looking Towards Heaven, since March of 2006. I love blogging. Recently, my other sites: Fruition Designs (where I sell Mommy Cards, stationery and Blog Design) and Modern Media Mom have nudged out a lot of my personal blogging time, but I’m trying to find more balance with it all.

My mission here at Modern Media Mom is to help you sort through the technical talk so that you can actually use the internet and technology to make your life easier.

Peek around. Hang out! You are sure to find useful and helpful information here.

I also have the latest headlines in technology that are relevant to you.

I’d love it if you’d subscribe (see that bright orange RSS button in the upper right corner? You can subscribe via feedreader or email) and spread the word.

You can also follow Modern Media Mom on Twitter.

If you have a blog or a mom-business, be sure to join in the fun at 5 Minutes for Mom!

PS: Enter UBP09 on your Blog Design order form, and you’ll get 10% off the Completely Custom package, 15% off the CompletelyUnique package and 20% off Completely You package, from now until March 30th.