Last week’s Google I/O 2014 developer conference left many developers swooning. With typical tech keynote fashion, product announcements, feature enhancements, a new operating system, new developer programs, and much more were all packed into a two-and-a-half-hour keynote—the full recording can be found at the bottom of this post for any Google enthusiasts out there with a free three hours.

There have been many recaps and articles on the news from the conference, but I wanted to call out some of the big news specifically for marketers and the impact Google's announcements will have on your future marketing plans. Below, is my recap of the keynote and conference along with the major takeaways for marketers.

Android L and Digital Experiences
One of Google's largest announcements was a new Android operating system, named Android L. You can read about the specifics of the new operating system here, but what intrigued me most was Google's work to blend the experience between digital devices. With "Material Design" Android phones, Android wearables, cars, and Chrome will all utilize the same visual design. They are tearing down the boundaries between mobile, apps, and the desktop.

This is key for marketers—even beyond designing and building apps for yet another operating system. Google is showing us the future where mobile experiences are no longer in silos. Digital experiences are merging and will no longer be defined as "mobile," "desktop," or "wearables." Google made that clear as their new Android operating system is being run on watches, smartphones, TVs, cars, laptops, and more. It's more important now than ever for brands to build cohesive, cross-channel customer journeys. Consumers will be expecting it.

Android TV
Google announced major enhancements as it combined features from Chromecast and an Apple TV into their new Android TVoperating system.

As Google, Apple, Netflix, and Amazon push farther and farther into the television experience, it will come closer and closer to traditional TV advertising's turf. The shift in the traditional television experience has already begun. Marketers should take these shifts seriously and prepare for what the future could look like with the majority of households in the U.S. owning a Chromecast or Apple TV instead of a Comcast cable subscription.

Wearable Technology
Google also announced that two Google smartwatches are now on sale for pre-order on the Google Play Store and were given out as gifts to keynote attendees. The LG G Smartwatch and Samsung Gear Live Smartwatch both run on Android Wear, the first operating system of its kind designed specifically for wearables and smartwatches.Google announced Android Wear back in March, but these are the first two watches to launch on the platform.

Back in March I wrote about the Google Wear announcement and its impact on marketing:

I see this announcement as another move in the direction of positioning Android as a platform for all connected devices, not just wearables or smartphones.

Connected devices and wearable technology are two of the largest trends so far this year, especially when talking about mobile technology and mobile marketing campaigns. And this is just the beginning. According to Juniper Research, the wearable technology market is predicted to be worth at least $19 billion by 2018, a dramatic increase from last year's $1.4 billion in retail revenue.

Smartwatches and connected devices are becoming just another personalized, real-time interaction and step in the customer journey.

The Missing Links
Some of the most surprising things to me, though, were some of the unsaid aspects of the conference. With nearly three hours of keynote and over an hour dedicated specifically to developer tools—that left some attendees sleeping in their seats—two of Google's most prominent programs to date, Google Glass and Google+, went unmentioned. This raises questions to the future for these programs? Will they soon become the next Orkuts?

Google Glass has already gained a great deal of press this year around privacy concerns, the awkward design, and the social aspect of the device itself. Instead of Glass, this year's keynote focused on the wrist for wearable technology. I believe Google's focus on Android Wear shows some of the direction they intend to take with wearables overall. Glass was an amazing idea, but may have been ahead of its time. Google is instead focusing on the wrist as the entry point for wearables.

Social media marketers using or considering Google+ should take extra note because, if Google isn't continuing to innovate in the platform, it will quickly become stagnant and eventually nonexistent. Google+ has by far not received the traction Google had hoped with its launch, but it still has brought considerable value to the social media marketing landscape. TechCrunch also provided further predictions as to the future of Google+ including a "rebuilding," transition to a supporting role, and a single sign-on service rather than a product.

No matter what the future holds for Google+ and Google Glass, marketers should be on their toes and continue to adapt to the ever-evolving landscape with social media and wearables.

Google I/O was filled with announcements, new products, and emerging technologies. What announcement most excites you? How will these developments impact your marketing plans?

Image Sources: Google & Mashable

I originally published this post on the Salesforce ExactTarget Marketing Cloud Blog.