Beyond wearables: brands could capitalise on the Internet of Things

“The Internet of Things” as a term dates as far back as 1999, but it is only recently that we have started to see the creative elite pick up the baton and start to develop some fantastic experiences that are user-friendly and genuinely engaging.

“Wearables” are perhaps the most obvious of this creative step change, and you cannot page through a Flipboard account or scroll through a Twitter timeline without some mention of “technology you wear”. Think of Nike’s fuelband for a wearable that is already mainstream, but look no further than Google’s Glass project to realise just how far we can push this. We already know that mobiles and tablets are ‘killing’ the desktop PC — will wearable tech kill mobiles? Perhaps, but only when we design glasses that aren’t so ugly.

It goes much further than “wearables” — though. Home automation with the mobile phone at the centre of it all has been a reality for some time already, but very shortly we’ll be at a stage where your house comes standard with the pool pump, irrigation system, geyser, lights and home security all linked to the net. You won’t need a handy man when things go wrong, you’ll need an IT technician. It’s actually already here, but now it’s about developing the solutions to something more affordable for those who don’t live in Stefan Antoni designed houses overlooking the Atlantic Seaboard.

The real beauty of the whole “connected real world” lies in devices developed to help connect other devices to the net. Arduino boards and Raspberry Pis can make coffee machines percolate with a tweet, dispense ice cream if you favourite a Facebook page or have billboards display personalised messages that were uploaded to an iPad halfway across the world. It will allow product engineers and web geeks to partner to create some truly compelling, magical experiences – and therein lies the opportunity for brands.

Andy Gilder will be speaking at the IMC conference in Cape Town on 10-11 June