Did the refrigerator message you?

‘Let us go party,’ Allen commented as soon as he received Joe’s message about a promotion. They chatted for a long time about their school, friends and work. Both agreed to call up their respective families and friends and meet at Allen’s place that weekend. Allen called his wife, Tina, and conveyed the news of Joe’s promotion and his invitation for a weekend party. 

As he hurriedly left office that day, Allen’s thought retraced childhood days at a small yet bustling town on the outskirts of a tech city. He had gone to school with Joe, founded a technology company while at college and decided to part ways when Joe decided to work for a tech major in China. Joe had travelled the world and was announced the CEO on his return to the US only a month ago.

As his car emerged out of the parking lot, a message popped up on his phone. It was Google. It had a list of party organizers. Yet another message had a list of his friends – mutual friends with Joe – to be invited for the party. A subsequent message had a calendar invite with names of all family members. Wow, this is going to be real fun, thought, Allen as he drove into his garage.

Welcome to the ‘internet of things’ which will certainly and significantly transform our lives. A blog by Ian Cook on the subject states the following - the ‘internet of things’ is an idea that suggests that not just access devices can be connected to the internet, but a whole host of other ‘objects’ might be able to join in as well.  For example, the Economist describes pill jars that know when an elderly patient needs to take a dose of tablets. A call centre can then ring the patient and remind them to take their pills.

According to Tom Fishburne, ‘as everyday objects in our homes, cars, and general lives start to connect, this has the potential to bring tremendous utility to people. For marketers, it also teases mouth-watering insight into and access to individual consumers.’

Now, Google’s acquisition of smart home device maker – Nest – could potentially change marketing forever.  The once-imagined future is less distant than we may think. A digitally enabled household no longer means simply maintaining a personal Internet connection or even syncing portable devices to a home network. Now, the digital home is becoming a conscious home — one that adapts and responds according to our behavior, states Anjali Lai in her Forrester blog.  

Gone are the days of brand building or relationship building; marketers will have to scamper for data pertaining to individuals so as to be the first to address their wants.  Well, the world’s really shrinking. What say you?