Well, at least this is what my Instagram picture reflects, as I solemnly browse through images of the holidays just gone. The reality is the Red PR team are back from Christmas break and I am writing this blog post at my desk with the air conditioner set to ‘ice cold’ to combat the 40 degree heat outside.  Yes it’s been a hot, busy start to 2013 but to be honest I’m glad to be back – because this will be a great year – especially for digital!

In 2012, we have shared our holidays and happy snaps with our team members through Instagram, generated business for clients through surprisingly successful platforms like Pinterest, made Twitter campaigns go viral, and of course utilised the many benefits of social media giant, Facebook.

So what’s in store for 2013?

Below are 5 of the ‘hottest’ social media channels tipped to make it big this year. Enjoy!

Pheed
Miley Cyrus and Paris Hilton are already on board with this pay-as-you-go social network. Rather than share photos, funny videos and witty observations for free, Pheed allows you to sell them.  This was launched in late 2012 and gives users the ability to have followers ‘subscribe’ for a monthly fee to access their stream of text, photo, audio, video and live broadcasts. While mainly being used by celebrities, is monetising social media going to head mainstream?

Thumb
This is one social network that all the Red PR girls will be on in no time. Thumb allows you to snap a photo, upload to Thumb and crowdsource the decision. I.e. not sure if the new pants you are about to buy are any good? Let Thumb’s network be the judge!  Simple questions generate hundreds of thumbs up or thumbs down comments and can generate serious engagement in a matter of minutes. One to watch.

Medium
This is a new, invitation-only network from the creator of Twitter. If you have something of value to share, then you will be invited to share it. While comments are free for all, the ‘creators’ of the content are carefully selected. Medium seems to be a response to the cat pictures, food Instagrams and location updates that have taken over our feeds  … sounds refreshing!

Chirpify
Hold on to your wallets, because this next one will likely make you spend. Chirpify is social media’s answer to online shopping. Users can offer items for sale via Twitter or Instagram – you simply reply with “buy” – and it’s yours! The transaction is made via your Twitter account, so no credit card details, “checkout” or “add to cart” in sight. Chirpify can also be used for fundraising and giveaways. One-stop-twitter-shop!

Chirp
Not to be mistaken with Chirpify, Chirp is definitely creating some buzz. To cut a long story short, if you want to instantly share a photo or link to a roomful of people (some you may have on your social media networks, others may be complete strangers) you send it out via Chirpify – your phone emits a high-pitched, two-second squeak and other phones within audio range pick up the sound and download the photo or message. Chirpify could revolutionise boardroom conferences, broadcasts over TV, radio and YouTube, and reach massive audiences at events over loudspeaker!

There you have it. It will be amazing to see what they think up next.  In the meantime we will be keeping a close eye on all things digital in 2013, what’s taking off and what’s not. Now if you excuse me, I just need to check how many ‘thumbs up’ my new bikinis will receive  …