What’s the most important impact of the ubiquity of smart and connected technology in our lives?

“What has been or will be the most important impacts of increasingly prevalent smart and connected technology in our lives, including in the home, in the workplace and in our towns and cities, and are they necessarily better than current systems?” This is the question that the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) Committee posed … Continue reading What’s the most important impact of the ubiquity of smart and connected technology in our lives?

With love, from your bathroom scales

Text message from the husband: Ah, the joys of the Internet of Things...

Grandpa has gone digital

When we talk about digital technology – how it is used, what it is used for, how it is likely to grow… – we tend to focus, explicitly or implicitly, on young(ish) users. Millennials, for instance. I confess I do that, too. But, according to work done by Professor Merlin Stone and his team … Continue reading Grandpa has gone digital

Not in front of Alexa, dear

In a recent episode of the “Let's talk about tech – Tech phone-in” podcast, the presenters were debating the extent to which smart voice assistants like Alexa presented a security and privacy threat. Fevzi Turkalp, from GadgetDetective.com, explained: The way that Alexa works (…) is that the smart bit of it is done on the … Continue reading Not in front of Alexa, dear

A brief and non-techy introduction to the Internet of Things for marketers

This paper aims to demystify the Internet of Things (IoT) for marketers. It provides a non-technical introduction to what the IoT is, and how it creates value for users (and, hence, why there has been so much excitement about it). The paper also presents a general overview of key implications for marketers to consider, … Continue reading A brief and non-techy introduction to the Internet of Things for marketers

I say wearables, you say apps and stuff

The general definition of wearables in the industry literature, is that they are machine to human devices, embedded with internet connectivity, and with the capability of collecting, storing and transmitting data. In the health and fitness arena, this includes fitness trackers, smartwatches, skin patches and certain types of smart clothing. This definition is focused on … Continue reading I say wearables, you say apps and stuff