What 2022 holds for M&E; Aditi Shrivastava, Co-Founder & CEO, Pocket Aces

2021 has been an extremely encouraging year for the media ecosystem. First the basics - At Pocket Aces we have grown several folds across every user and financial metric. Audience consumption patterns across formats and gebees - be it reels or stories or memes or short videos or web series or feature films, both fiction and non-fiction continue to be through the roof, thanks to sticky habits set by the pandemic. I am often asked whether short form will take over long form or vice versa, but all audience consumption patterns show us that there is space and time and demand for both. Creators just have to ensure more than ever that they’re making content driven by data and audience insights, rather than driven just by their own personal preferences. 

As the biggest trend in 2022 we expect all aspects of Web 3.0 and Crypto to gain huge traction in the media ecosystem. Some examples of how we will see this trend kick off: - Creators are going to find more ways to increase and exploit the value of their IP via content NFTs. Fans will be able to own a part of their favorite content which could never happen before. 

• The love for influencers and creators will continue and deepen. Super fans will want equity ownership in their favorite creator, and creators will be able to earn directly from fans in many big ways. Monetary dependence on brands and platforms will decrease. 
• Young audiences are environmentally conscious, and instead of buying more fast fashion, they will slowly move towards virtual fashion and virtual goods. Virtual goods will slowly emerge as the next big D2C play. 
• All of us, including perhaps you and I, will have a digital avatar. 

Some of these trends are already happening in the gaming ecosystem since it naturally lends itself to virtual worlds. Media will start to be understood as a space where people live their virtual lives rather than just something they consume or watch. This will require 

audience and creator education, which front runners like us have already started doing. It couldn’t be a more exciting time to be in this space!