MediaFile

Maybe you think you're up to date on the latest financial apps and mobile solutions, but unless you are updating your money life every five minutes, you aren't. Behind the scenes, scores of companies are throwing money at digitizing you, your cash and (even more popular than money these days) your consumer profile.

Recently I had a chance to check many of them out. I spent two days at Finovate, a financial technology conference run by Online Banking Report. It's a cool meeting -- in two days roughly 60 different companies present seven minute versions of their best selves. Usually they do this before they are fully up and running for consumers, so not everything is ready for prime time yet.

But it does give a great overview of the trends that consumers will be seeing over the next year. Here's my take on the biggest trends for individual investors and bank customers.

You want mortgages? We’ve got mortgages, says Google

You know all those sites like Bankrate and credit.com that let you comparison shop for credit cards and mortgages? Google is gunning for their space with its new Google Advisor. At first glance, there’s nothing new here that isn’t already on lots of different sites, but as company rep Charles Gianfrante says, “We’re Google. And we are just getting started.”

So expect comprehensive listings on the clear and clean site, which covers mortgages, credit cards, bank certificates of deposit, checking and savings accounts. One big plus: You can shop for quotes without giving your real contact info to the banks in question; there’s a complicated interim-email system that blocks your identity. But of course you do have to give it to Google, which won’t let you access the site unless you sign in.

Do you ever broadcast on Twitter, Facebook and Foursquare (or others) where you're eating lunch, who you're with and or even when you're on vacation? Do you care who's seeing it? If you don't, you probably should.

Would you get undressed in front of a window?

The meteoric growth of social networking has exposed millions of people's personal activities to a far larger audience than most might be aware.

"It’s really just the erosion of privacy in general," says Kurt Roemer, chief security strategist at Citrix Systems. "You’re giving away information you may not want to intentionally give away."

If you've ever lost a credit card, had your identity stolen or even lost your wallet, you know what a pain it is and what worry is attached. For an estimated 77 million Sony PlayStation subscribers, today is that day.

With the risk that their credit card data has been pilfered along with all other information they entrusted to Sony when signing up (name, address and phone number, etc.), it's time to start acting like victims.

That means considering canceling credit cards, planning to systematically— one every four months — order credit reports (you are entitled to one a year free from each of the three major credit agencies from this site) to see if someone has taken credit in your name. That means closely monitoring all your bills to make sure that no extra charges are lopped on.

The financial crisis might have sapped more than its share of 401(k)s, but it’s providing the news business with all sorts of programming ideas.

The latest is a new personal finance website from CBS Interactive. MoneyWatch.com, which officially goes live on Wednesday, will provide the following things, according to the press release:

The site will translate the latest financial headlines and break down how they directly impacts the readers’ and their pocketbook. MoneyWatch will provide a bird’s eye view into how the latest financial news affects their salaries, mortgages, 401Ks, and their overall finical well-being. With the support of CBS, MoneyWatch experts will react quickly to translate the news on a broadcast level, from national and local TV and radio stations including CBS Early Show and local CBS news affiliates. Unlike other personal finance sites now available, MoneyWatch will have a life across multi-platforms, across the web, TV, and radio, and reach a massive audience. Led by Eric Schroenberg, former managing editor of Money Magazine, MoneyWatch will help people who feel responsible about their money and believe that making the right decisions about what they have and what they earn is profoundly important. If the crash taught us anything, it’s that the penalty for not knowing what to do with your money has never been higher. MoneyWatch.com is spin-off from its sister site, BNET, one of the fastest growing business sites on the Web.

The announcement comes on the heels of Fox Business Network’s announcement that it will start a Saturday morning four-hour call-in program for folks worried about their money, and joins a host of other “what it means for you”-style sites dealing in personal finance, such as FiLife.com.