Information is the new addiction. People can’t get enough of it.

And it just keeps on coming.

In the next 12 months, we can expect to see review sites set for even more spectacular growth. Comparison sites will get much more sophisticated. And the inner workings of companies will be laid bare to beady eyes in all manner of new ways.

Research by Nielsen and Edelman, amongst others, has shown that the combination of Web 2.0 and the recent financial crisis has sent trust in brands southward in a radical way.

It is no longer good enough for companies to tell customers what they do. They need to walk the talk, or they’ll get found out.

The dark art of spin is shriveling fast under the glare of a billion luminescent screens.