The Internet Of (Consequential) Things

For about 10 hours a week, I play one of the most boring video games ever. That game is measured by the gauges in my hybrid hatchback, which tells me how I'm doing with my efforts to go farther on a tank of gas. The game has no great prize or winner; just moments of small victory when the rates go up, and I've taken to dialing back the air conditioning, taking corners at drifting speed, and using the cruise control more and more on highways to better my score. (Mostly while driving alone.)

All of this has likely made me a safer driver, since I'm more attentive. That's all to the good, since driving might be the only activity that I engage in that could cause me serious injury. (Wondering how we're going to get this into marketing and advertising? Don't worry, it's coming.)

Currently, this habit  has very limited impact on anything beyond, well, how much I pay for gas. I don't have an IoT device on my car, so my habits aren't communicated to my insurance company. Even if they were (Progressive has a device), driving isn't in a feedback loop with your credit rating. But I do have a smartphone in my pocket, and a toll booth transponder on the windshield, so it's not as if these activities couldn't be tracked. The potential for this exists, and so does the infrastructure. It's just the last mile of consumer acceptance that needs to be navigated. Which is were marketing and advertising comes in. (See? We got here eventually. Just took the scenic route.)

This is, However, a pretty serious last mile. If the way you drive is tracked and monitored in a way that cuts your insurance payments, many consumers will accept it as a benefit. But there's a stick that comes with that carrot, and it's this: what if you could get traffic tickets without ever having a conversation with a police officer?

Well, you can already. Just drive through an automated toll booth without a transponder. But for things like speeding, failing to come to a full stop on signals, and so on... this all seems like a new and significant tax burden. And how these devices and convenience have consequences.

Now, let's go further, into the realm of wearables.

Currently, individuals self-report their habits to their insurance companies and healthcare providers, with points like their smoking habits, alcohol consumption, fitness, diet and sleeping all subject to personal bias and inaccuracy. We all know that we should be completely honest about these habits to receive the best care, but when honestly might cost you more in premiums, it's easy to shade those points. And in a time of increasing pressure on employment and rising health care premiums, the occasional cigar or other choice coming back to bite you in the workplace is a serious point.

That's why, in a recent survey of workers in the UK, "free" wearables provided by an employer were seen as a non-starter, because the data would be used against the individual. It's also why, despite decades of "cyber slacking" at the job, many employers turn a blind eye to on the clock usage of social media or viewing non-work Web sites, so long as the usage doesn't become disruptive.

Selling the benefits of the IoT was never going to be that easy. After all, it's new tech, and as such, has a high barrier to entry for bleeding edge technology. But when it's served with a side of fear -- inevitably stoked by mass media -- that's going to be a real challenge.

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What's Deserved

Such as a champion...

Tonight in Oakland, the Cleveland Cavaliers snapped a 52-year drought among professional sports teams in that city, by completing a 3-1 comeback against Golden State, who had the best regular season record in NBA history.

And I was struck, in the post-game comments, over the use of the word "deserved", as in how the fans of that city deserved a championship.

Now, perhaps I'm just being a little too doctrinaire on definitions here, and if you are going for splitting linguistic hairs from post-game athletes, you are probably going to be very disappointed routinely.

But fans don't actually deserve championships.

Being a good fan doesn't mean that you get to have a title passed down to you in equal allotments, because that's not how the game works. The good people of Cleveland may have been overdue for some good fortune, in that they were close a number of times, but that's far from deserving something.

It's kind of like how companies don't deserve good marketing or advertising, or business success. Hard work isn't enough; neither is a good product. Timing, strategy, personnel, an effective story in the marketplace... all are essential. But unlike sports, you can have more than one ultimate winner.

Oh, and one final point about this?

If the only time that you can be happy about your team is when they win a championship... you probably shouldn't be watching sports.

The Warriors made history this year, played beautiful basketball, and came within a couple of plays of repeating as NBA champions. Their fans might be disappointed tonight, and may be for some time to come, but in terms of memories, amazing play and entertainment, they got more than just about any team's fans ever.

And that Game Seven?

An utterly amazing game. One that neither team deserved to lose.

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That Which Cannot Continue

Herb Me

This week at my day job and on my social feeds, I've been struck by the following.

> The possibility, however remote, that something might actually change in the realm of gun control in this country following a massacre. It's certainly not how you'd bet, but there's actually some hope now that people who aren't allowed to fly also won't be allowed to buy weapons of mass murder. Baby steps.

> News from California that voters will have a referendum on the ballot that would make big money domination of political advertising difficult through a punitive tax on placements. And it's hard to see how a law like that wouldn't pass at the ballot box, honestly.

> News from Philadelphia of a vice-level tax on full calorie and diet sodas, with the revenue set to aid a wide range of programs, but most especially education.

Now, all of these points go against heavily moneyed interests to the cause of inertia. The NRA has steadfastly refused any movement on any number of laws, as they've more or less made the tactical decision to oppose any possibility of less coverage. They've been successful in getting more, not less, with state and local changes that have contributed, frankly, to a massive increase in sales. And a despair that anything can change.

In re California, the feeling in many political circles has been that money will rule, with only the tsunami of social media and outsider candidates causing a brief respite, albeit in ways that hardly seemed like progress. A punitive tax, while an obvious target for legal challenge, could be wildly popular, and California is a leading indicator on any number of trends.

Finally, the soda tax. It's not so much what it represents -- soda has been losing market share for decades now, as people look for more healthy choices -- but how it could open the floodgates to all manner of other punitive measures. Sin taxes have been in place for adult pleasures for decades, but if we extend to soda, fast food, junk food... well, it's not exactly the social change that some may dream of. But if we get healthier as a nation and planet, maybe the ends justify the means. More importantly, a great problem for the nation, in re obesity issues and rising rates of diabetes, might lessen.

Gun deaths, political ads and obesity. Terrible problems, seemingly unsolvable, now all in the cross hairs of possible change. Hope springs eternal, right?

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Feel free to comment, as well as like or share this column, connect with me on LinkedIn, or email me at davidlmountain at gmail dot com, or hit the RFP boxes at top right. RFPs are always free, and we hope to hear from you soon.