Ideas
Explore the world's #1 largest database of ideas and innovations, with 471,375 inspiring examples.
Trend Reports
Discover why 1,271 brands rely on our AI-powered Trend Reports to get better, faster insights.
Newsletter
Join 312,224 subscribers who rely on our weekly newsletter to keep up with need-to-know trends and insights.
How to Hunt
Learn more about how to hunt megatrends, ideas, patterns and opportunity.
Consumer Insights
Uncover major shifts and emerging opportunities with our exclusive PRO research.
Trend Reports
Discover why 1,271 brands rely on our AI-powered Trend Reports to get better, faster insights.
Newsletter
Join 312,224 subscribers who rely on our weekly newsletter to keep up with need-to-know trends and insights.
How to Hunt
Learn more about how to hunt megatrends, ideas, patterns and opportunity.
Advisory & Services
Accelerate innovation and ignite disruptive thinking with our award-winning programs and research.
Trend Reports
Get fast, customized trend reports, presentations and deep dives 20x faster than traditional research.
Plans
Get started today with a free consultation, our self-serve tools, or a dedicated program.
Articles & Magazine
Get inspired with our 4,215 innovation strategy articles, keynote, videos and innovation tools.
Innovation Awards
Trend Hunter’s Innovation Strategy Awards recognize the best innovation tactics gathered from our interviews with some of the world's most notable business leaders, authors and change makers.
Advisory & Services
Accelerate innovation and ignite disruptive thinking with our award-winning programs and research.
Innovation Assessment
Enhance your innovation potential with a deeper understanding of your unique innovation archetype and how your organization benchmarks.
FuturistU
Prepare for the years ahead with 100+ lessons, tactics, tools and frameworks with our full learning database.
Innovation Books
Join 20,000,000 people getting better and faster with our New York Times Bestselling books and keynote videos.
Jeremy Gutsche
Ignite your event or virtual event with our CEO, a NY Times Bestselling Author and one of the top innovation keynote speakers.
Our Team of Speakers & Virtual Presenters
Inspire your group with our most popular speakers on innovation, trends, change and futurism.
Custom Training & Events
Bring the Future Festival experience directly to your team or co-hosted custom event.
Custom Masterclasses
Join the world's leading brands who leverage our custom programs to accelerate innovation.
FuturistU 5-Day Program
Become a Futurist with our immersive 5-Day program at Future Festival World Summit.
Online eLearning
Learn the fundamentals of futurism and trends with 100+ online courses about innovation.
How to Hunt
Learn more about how to hunt megatrends, ideas, patterns and opportunity.
Contact
Get in touch to learn more, ask a question or submit a tip.
About Us
Learn more about Trend Hunter and how we accelerate innovation.
Follow-Us
Join our 3,500,000 social media followers, on the cutting edge.
How to Hunt
Learn more about how to hunt megatrends, ideas, patterns and opportunity.
FAQ
Get answers to common questions about Trend Hunter.
Community
Stay on the cutting-edge with the help of the Trend Hunter community.
Team
Meet the team trusted by hundreds of leading businesses worldwide.
Jobs
Find opportunities to accelerate your career with the #1 Trend Firm.
News
Catch up on noteworthy Trend Hunter news and media mentions.
Join
Build a portfolio and put your trend-spotting abilities to the test.
Advertising
Supercharge your marketing by partnering with Trend Hunter.
Portfolio
Visit your public portfolio and browse your past articles.
Add a Trend
Write up an article and showcase your trend-spotting skills.
My Trends
Edit your articles and see how they stack up on the leaderboards.
Settings
Edit your profile, connect your social media accounts, and more.
Add a trend, customize your dashboard, or track topics.
Future Festival
Innovation Events
Join the world's top innovators at our in person events.
Free Webinars
Learn to innovate through chaos, navigate the new normal and maintain work culture from home.
Custom Training & Events
Bring the Future Festival experience directly to your team or co-hosted custom event.
Search our database of 471,375 cutting edge ideas.

Social Media Metaphors

Analogies and visualizations clarify the nature of social media

Implications - For the less web-wise, a visual translation of the crowded social media world is helpful in understanding the impact of social media. Artists and social media specialists are creating social media metaphors—creative analogies, visualizations and comparisons between the Internet and almost anything—that are engaging, insightful and provide clarity to less social media-savvy consumers and brands.
Trend Themes
1. Social Media Visualization - Artists and social media specialists are creating social media metaphors—creative analogies, visualizations and comparisons between the internet and almost anything—that are engaging, insightful and provide clarity to less social media-savvy consumers and brands.
2. Social Media Infographics - Infographics that celebrate 100 million new Twitter accounts and illustrate the 7 types of iPhone users have become a popular trend to help explain social media to the non-web-savvy population.
3. Digital Identity Personification - Personifying digital identities has become a disruptive innovation opportunity with websites such as Flowtown creating internet profiles as if in the pages of a high school yearbook, and Stick With Me Baby Mac stickers being created by a group of designers to personalize a MacBook in a sea of Apple products.
Industry Implications
1. Marketing & Advertising - Opportunities lie in finding creative ways to visually represent complex social media concepts, as well as personifying digital identities for personalized and unique marketing strategies.
2. Technology - With social media and smartphone usage predominating online and mobile experiences, innovations in consumer-friendly tech should consider how to help users navigate and understand the digital landscape easily.
3. Art & Design - The growth of social media has enabled disruptive innovation in artistic expression, with artists using platforms to share thought-provoking pieces on the effects of social connectivity and identity.
5
Score
Popularity
Activity
Freshness
Patterns
Megatrends
6 Featured, 49 Examples:
1,239,516 Total Clicks
Date Range:
Jun 10 — Feb 11
Trending:
Warm

Featured Examples

iPhone User Infographics
iPhone User Infographics
The '7 Types of iPhone Users' Celebrates the launch of Verizon iPhones
If you are, or know someone who is an iPhone user, then chances are you will get a good laugh out of this ‘7 Types of iPhone Users’ made by the folks at AllAreaCodes.com in order to... MORE
Juxtaposed Social Media Art
Juxtaposed Social Media Art
Filippo Minelli Creates Contradictory Scenarios
Filippo Minelli knows that innumerable amounts of the world's population is connected by a social media outlet -- be it Twitter or Facebook or the many others. The interconnectivity between friends, families,… MORE
Personified Decals
Personified Decals
The 'Stick With Me Baby' Mac Stickers are Full of Attitude
The 'Stick With Me Baby' Mac stickers were created by a group of designers from Herraizsoto&co;. These funny and interesting stickers will definitely stand out from all the other Macs around. There is… MORE
Personified Website Stereotypes
Personified Website Stereotypes
The Social Media Class of 2011 is the Web's Pop Culture Prequel
There are many who struggle to define social networking, but few examples come cross as funny as the Social Media Class of 2011 by Flowtown. Categorizing some of the most popular user interactive websites… MORE
Social Media Maps
Social Media Maps
The Randall Munroe 'Online Communities' Maps Give Direction to n00bs
The Randall Munroe 'Online Communities' maps make web surfing easy for the less Internet-savvy. The maps outline the Internet's biggest websites as countries and seas, giving clarity to each site's ranking… MORE
Celeb Twitter Trees
Celeb Twitter Trees
The Twitter Infographic Celebrates 100 Million More New Accounts
Twitter continues to see phenomenal growth, especially in the past year: In 2010, more than 100 million new accounts were opened. The Twitter Infographic celebrates this phenomenon, showing off notable… MORE

Related Examples

Adolescent Stereotype Snapshots
Adolescent Stereotype Snapshots
'Gym Class Heroes' Frames High School's Main Characters
Infographic Biographies
Infographic Biographies
This Pheonomenal Nicholas Felton Creation Honors His Father's Memory
Funky Stereotypical Characters
Funky Stereotypical Characters
Daniel Brokstad Illustrates Popular Pigeonholed People
Social Network Growth Graphs
Social Network Growth Graphs
The Foursquare Infographic Illustrates Fascinating Facts
play_circle_filledQuick Soap Opera Sagas
Quick Soap Opera Sagas
23 Years of the Bold and the Beautiful Retold in Six Minutes
Detangling Network Hairballs
Detangling Network Hairballs
Martin Krzywinski's Linear Hive Plots Simplify Complex Visualization
Real-Time Twitter Sketches
Real-Time Twitter Sketches
Secret Portraits is an Illustrative Visual of What You're Doing
play_circle_filledDigitally Deceased Donors (UPDATE)
Digitally Deceased Donors (UPDATE)
Celebrities Pause Social Media for World AIDS Day
Social Media Sacrifices
Social Media Sacrifices
Celebs Offer Up Their Digital Lives for the Buy Life Campaign
Stereotype Swatch Ads
Stereotype Swatch Ads
These LICRA Prints Discriminate Statistics
99 Twittervations
99 Twittervations
From Newlywed Sex Tweets to Tweeting Executions
Comical Interactive Posters
Comical Interactive Posters
Yiying Lu Walls 360 Features Plenty of Cute Graphic Designs
31 Tangible Twitter Items
31 Tangible Twitter Items
From Blue Bird Plushies to Social Media Tapestries
Twittertastic Stuffed Animals
Twittertastic Stuffed Animals
This Twitter Plush Toy Bear Reads Your Tweets for You
Job-Specific Sippers
Job-Specific Sippers
These Occupation Mugs by Designers Anonymous Know What You Like
Twitter-Inspired Accessories
Twitter-Inspired Accessories
The Keecies Fine Leather Collection Channels Birds and Pigs
Social Media Kiosks
Social Media Kiosks
The Public Twitter Booth Lets the Smartphone-Free Tweet On the Go
Controversial Country Prints
Controversial Country Prints
The Yanko Tsvetkov Maps Stereotypes Series is a Shocker
Interactive Info Graphics
Interactive Info Graphics
Newsweek's 'World's Best Countries' Ranking Compares Lifestyle Factors
Social Media Shrubs
Social Media Shrubs
PocketGrow Will Teach Your Plants to Tweet
3D Braille Maps
3D Braille Maps
The Brainovi Navigates Blind People in the Right Direction
play_circle_filledCommunicating Plant Life
Communicating Plant Life
The Talking Treee by EOS Magazine Provides some Insight
Social Network Currencies
Social Network Currencies
Empire Avenue Tells You What You're Worth
Roadkill Phone Apps
Roadkill Phone Apps
The Online Roadkill Database May Become Available on Your Cell Phone
Social Media Fast Foods
Social Media Fast Foods
The Unique 4food Burger Joint is Online-Based
Social Media Wars
Social Media Wars
The Google vs. Facebook Employment War Gets Messy
Social Media Sustenance
Social Media Sustenance
The Meet Eater Plant Survives on Social Interactions With Users
play_circle_filledFacebranding
Facebranding
Sprint Firsts in Facebook
play_circle_filledSocial Network Alternatives
Social Network Alternatives
'Diaspora' Set to Take Over Facebook in September 2010
play_circle_filledSocial Media Charity Cycles
Social Media Charity Cycles
Precious the Tweeting Bike Raises Money for Livestrong
play_circle_filledColor-Coded Heat Loss
Color-Coded Heat Loss
'Zoom Into Your Roof' Infrared Energy Maps Reveal Insulation Inefficiencies
Internet Media Maps
Internet Media Maps
The 2010 Social Network World Map Provides an Outlook on Social Media
play_circle_filledSneaker Stereotype Virals
Sneaker Stereotype Virals
The Hilarious ‘Buttershoes' Foot Locker Commercial
Musical Maps
Musical Maps
Dan Cassaro's 'Springstreets' are Maps of Bruce Springsteen Songs
play_circle_filledSocial Media Mood Maps
Social Media Mood Maps
Researchers Graph Twitter Emotions Throughout the United States
Twitter Topography
Twitter Topography
These New City Landscape Maps Use 'Tweetography' to Plot Density
Pop Art Decals
Pop Art Decals
The Blik Keith Haring Collection has Prints You Can Stick on Your Walls
Gamer Wall Stickers
Gamer Wall Stickers
The Urban Outfitters Donkey Kong Wall Decals are Plenty of Fun
Illuminated Decals
Illuminated Decals
The Flat Light Poster is Both a Poster and a Light
Villain iPad Decals
Villain iPad Decals
Make Nerdy Accessories Look Gnarly with Comic Book Stickers
Misleading Science Blogs
Misleading Science Blogs
The Fake Science Blog Offers Silly Answers to Life's Toughest Questions
Youth Mobile Phone Studies
Youth Mobile Phone Studies
The Informative Flowtown Infographic Analyzes Teen Cell Phone Usage
Superhero Laptop Skins
Superhero Laptop Skins
‘Iron Man' Decal by SkinAT is the Latest in Badass iPad Persona
Retrofied iPad Stickers
Retrofied iPad Stickers
MacSlaps iPad Decals Proclaim Your Penchant for Personalization
Tongue-Pulling Laptop Decals
Tongue-Pulling Laptop Decals
'Sore Loser' by Tom Kitchen is Fun for Folks Who Love to Win
Hot iPad Decals
Hot iPad Decals
Customizing Your Tablet has Never Been Easier
Gagafied Tablets
Gagafied Tablets
Have Fun Sticking On These Lady Gaga Laptop Decals
Stereotype Tourism Ads
Stereotype Tourism Ads
The Swiss Tourism Campaign Makes Us Yodel
Stereotype Trading Cards
Stereotype Trading Cards
'The Problem With Young People' Blog Vents About Youth