Looking Back on the Trends of 2015

As 2015 ends and 2016 begins, it has become a habit to look back on what has been a busy year in the digital media industry and try to predict what will happen in the not-too-distant future.

Ad-blocking, the use of analytics, social content and sharing, sponsored content (“advertorials”), immersive, interactive customer experiences, and the increased sale and usage of phablets (smartphones with larger screens) have all been notable trends in digital publishing in 2015 and they continue to develop.

Parse.ly (www.parsely.com), a company that specializes in audience analytics, conducted a year-end poll among hundreds of digital publishers worldwide to identify the most notable trends of 2015.

According to the survey results which are illustrated in this chart, mobile traffic now exceeds desktop traffic for many publishers. This is far and away the most noteworthy development in 2015. When you consider that a mere ten years ago cell phones were novelties and smartphones didn’t exist, the pace at which mobile content caught up with and finally surpassed desktop content is amazing.

We will watch developments in 2016 with great interest!