It’s a land where machines know what people need and want, where the products a customer researches are automatically delivered to her mailbox, where she can reach the company that made that product across the globe without leaving her home, a land of smart television and constant information. No, it’s not the future (or the Matrix), it’s the digital communications landscape in 2013.

Hotwire PR and 33 Digital published the fourth annual Digital Trends Report today which outlines the trends and challenges facing the communications industry in the new year. The report points to trends continuing from the present — increasing interconnectivity and engagement is a big one — but also looks at the influx of new census data in a radically different world than 2002 and the rise of ever-smarter inanimate objects.

Hotwire UK CEO Drew Benvie says, “What is emerging is the need for far deeper skills in the comms team and a broader range of skills to boot. Data is leading the charge, with design and build alongside. The changes that we are seeing will require marketing departments to think more strategically about the future than ever before. In 2012, social media truly mainstreamed. Now, digital innovation is more exciting than it’s ever been, and 2013 is going to be a barnstorming year.”

Social media, the survey says, is also maturing. Engagement is now key, not broadcasting, as niche audiences become targets of social media activity. The biggest challenge posed by these changes is to business. Businesses are become increasingly more transparent, both internally and externally. The dilemma corporations will face is what to keep secret and what to share.