How coding and culture will shape the jobs of '09.

In today's installment of my series on the emerging careers of '09, we get a little more nerdy tech-oriented with Andrea Hill, a veteran Web developer who is now Director of Social Media and Interactive Technology at Worldways Social Marketing.

I turned to Andrea because she is always looking at social media through the lenses of both technology and human nature. So here's her perspective on where today's hot jobs are headed:

My background is in development, so although I have stepped away from coding, I still tend to think about "how to make it happen."

OpenID, Google Friend Connect, Facebook Connect: all these technologies hinge on the idea of a unique identifier that we carry across our online experiences. We can't continue to limit our development efforts to our own Web sites. We need to figure out how to share (and limit) data across experiences.

I see there being a need for Social Architects. These individuals would have insights into how different online services and experiences could best be integrated. So rather than Facebook, MySpace or LinkedIn allowing third-party developers to duct-tape their applications onto their platform, there would be true (useful) integration. This role would require an understanding of the underlying systems and how they relate.

To support the Social Architects,  we would also likely need to see a rise in Semantic Coders. There has been some discussion on the Semantic Web, and this can still be a bit too "techy" for the layman. Yet if we start to consider the semantics of WHAT we're describing, we can more easily tie together systems. Companies like AdaptiveBlue "understand" when you refer to books or music, and offer relevant supplementary information. The catch is that we need to have a set of standards to code to.

I believe we WILL see a dramatic rise in mobile in 2009. Yes, I know it's been predicted for the past several years, but I do think the time is coming. The challenge is that mobile is, well, hard to visualize. The technology exists; we're just awaiting the tipping point.

We need more Mobile Marketers. I've already seen that mobile analytics are starting to be discussed. Whereas social media is big and they're just now trying to determine how to measure effectiveness, mobile analytics is already being considered. I think this is great integration: people will be implementing mobile campaigns that are trackable from the beginning.

I can also see a need in Personal Branding Consultants. Sure, many of us love social media and naturally establish a name/reputation for ourselves. But there are many people who do not have the passion or time to do so. Just as companies have to learn to monitor their online brand, I believe there will be a need for individuals to start to do this in the future. Just as many folks may turn to resume writing services, we need to look at this advanced means of self-promotion, as well.

You can read more from Andrea at her industry blog, Digital Likeness, or her running blog, Go The Distance. Most importantly, you can see photographic evidence of the day we met on Flickr.

Also in this series:
• Want to be a Conversation Auditor when you grow up?
• The emerging careers of '09: Advergirl's predictions.

Comments

[Andrea Hill]

Love the picture, do you think it's obvious we're posing? You look a bit too enthralled with whatever I was showing you..