Internet of Things, once bitten, twice shy?

“In the future (the near future, not the distant future), when you walk down the street in a strange city and stumble upon something interesting, you’ll be able to “bookmark” it for later reference. Or drill down to find out the last time someone you know was here, and whether they noted it, too.” Do you know the saying: “Once bitten, twice shy?” At the dawn of a whole new technology era you might want to use it while you still can. The Internet of Things has arrived and so have lots of possible scenarios on the future of our interaction with technology and data. Scenario’s that will add meaning to our lives and business processes. Maybe you think the Internet of Things is nothing more then a new bubble… But it is actually quite tangible already. Bruce Kasanoff author of the book ‘Smart Customers, Stupid Companies’ gives us some examples which of what digital sensors and wired-up objects can already do in our personal lives and businesses

• Monitor your tire pressure and avoid dangerous blowouts;
• Analyze the gait of elderly citizens and warn of falls before they occur;
• Follow the gaze of shoppers and identify which products they examine – but don’t buy – in a store;
• Monitor which pages readers of a magazine read or skip;
• Float in the air over a factory and independently monitor the plant’s emissions;
• Prevent intoxicated drivers from operating a motor vehicle;
• Warn a person before he or she has a heart attack;
• Congratulate an athlete when she swings a tennis racquet properly or achieves an efficient stride while running.

As you can see, the examples of Bruce Kasanoff are quit concrete. Think about what will happen, when we place sensors and wired-up objects in our bodies, in our houses, in our companies, in our cities and in our whole society. We will be able to measure every single part of society and business insights which will create competitor advantage on both short and long term. Companies will be able to monitor every single process. With the Internet of Things we will finally know what a product really costs. Both personal and company decisions will be based on real time information and insights. So the question is: what do you always wanted to know? Will be the saying: Once bitten, twice shy when in our near future be past time? Read the complete article.