How Times Have Changed: 2010's Six Most Talked About Innovations

2020 is not just any other year; it is the start of a new decade that will be profoundly shaped by technology and innovation. 2010 seems like it was yesterday and, yet, everything has fundamentally changed. To prove my point, these are some of the most talked-about disruptions of 2010:

Twitter Was Huge

In 2010, Twitter was six years old and going strong; valued at US$3.7bn, with 100 million new registered accounts just that year. The idea of a more popular social media in which regular people could become entrepreneurs only by sharing photos and that celebrities would amount up to 150 million followers would be considered so farfetched in 2010.

Spotify Made It To America

Swedish founded Spotify exists since 2006, but it was in 2010 that the now most popular music streaming service in the world was meant to have its US debut. (Spoiler alert: it didn't. The service ended up making its way across the pond in 2011 going up against Google Music, also launched in 2011).

Checking-in Became A Thing

2010 was the year Foursquare, Facebook and Gowalla rolled out their "check-in" feature. Back then, checking in didn't so much as connect you to people or win you discounts, it served mainly as a "hey, I'm here" kinda function.

iPhone 4 Was Released

And its retina display and HD video functions were all the rage. 2019's iPhone 11 and its dual 12-megapixel cameras on an aluminium frame and glass body would seem like a dream that 2010's people didn't even know could come true.

Facebook Was The Biggest Social Media Of All

With 500 million new accounts registered in 2010, Facebook's danger to democracy wasn't even peeking in the horizon of its users (not to mention, Mark Zuckerberg was still considered cool).

The iPad Was Created

Yup. Remember when people used to fire up their laptops at home after work to browse the internet? The iPad was launched in 2010 for "casual web browsing, ebook reading, games and even light office work - the iPad is a revelation", as read an article by The Telegraph.

For a comparison of how far we've come, this Forbes' article lists the seven biggest innovations trends for 2020, according to CES 2020. Amongst them, you will find a device that will be able to read your mind and that seeing through your car will be soon a thing.

Let the future begin.

(This article was originally published on January 7, 2020).