Smile... You're Connected
Ian Howard
Strategic Partner - Tracta | Director - Spring Insights | Co-Founder Bright Street Studio | Partner - Flight Digital | Experienced CEO | Marketing and Tech Commentator | Ethical Business Evangelist
When you flick a light switch, do you stop even for a second and think about the electricity that has to flow to make the light bulb illuminate? Thought not. It’s invisible, constant, a given. Pretty soon, we’ll think of the web in the same way. It will be just like electricity - we’ll take for granted that it simply powers what we need it to power.
The first webcam
Let me take you back a bit. Back in 1993 a group of sleep-deprived Cambridge researchers set up a camera to monitor the status of a pot of coffee in their shared rec room. By all accounts the coffee wasn’t up to much at the best of times, and the last thing they wanted to do was to trudge to the coffee pot only to find they’d been left with the dregs or worse, none at all. So to avoid that, they streamed the status of the
coffee to the web, giving them and the rest of the world a live view of the pot. This is credited as the first ever public webcam.
I’m guessing that the device you’re reading this on - a phone, tablet, laptop or even traditional desktop - has webcam functionality. I’m also guessing that you take it for granted that you can Skype or FaceTime your friends, check out weather webcams or access live streams. But back in 1993, this was a revelation. Using the unique characteristics of the web to solve a problem was arguably the starting point of a journey that is finally getting near its destination - that of the web as a ubiquitous fuel that powers our lives.
More time, less decisions
As we move into a truly connected world, we’ll find that many of the everyday decisions we currently make will be taken care of without the need for our intervention. Everyday transactions will change. Cupboards and fridges will re-order food for us automatically. Cars will recognise when their tyres are running out of tread and reorder them to be sent to the nearest garage. Office printers will automatically order print refills when they’re getting close to running out of ink. Oh hang on… that’s already happening.
There is no doubt that more of our consumables will follow in those footsteps. However, that’s just scratching the surface of the possibilities of the Internet of Things. In Taiwan, researchers have developed an internet-connected tooth implant that tracks the pH, vitamin and sugar levels of the food you eat. This could mean in the future, you only have to go to the dentist when your teeth tell you to. That’s something to smile about.