CTO Straight Talk - Issue 1 - 13

To move from the Internet of Things to
the Internet of Experiences, products and
services should be developed not only with an
emphasis on making technology fade into the

think about how to get this information to
people so they are not overwhelmed but they
can use it to improve their lives."
The collection of all the relevant data means
also tapping into other sources of information
and not limiting it to a single "thing" or a
single user. Hal Varian provides an example
from his home state of California, which is
suffering a severe drought. "Yet I still see lawn
sprinkler systems running while it is raining,"
he says. "Certainly sprinkler systems should
be smart enough to check the weather forecast
and current conditions before turning on
the water!" Or, as Aziza, the CMO and selfdescribed Quantified Self geek, says: "We
work for the data today; instead, the data
needs to work for us."

background, but also with data and its analysis
at their core. The value of the "things" in the
Internet of Experiences is measured by how
well the data they collect is analyzed and how
quicklyl feedbased on this analysis is delivered
to the user. The problem with the current crop
of wearables is not only the poor design of the
user interface but also the absence of relevant
data and analysis. "For the mass market," says
Donna Hoffman, the co-director of the Center
for the Connected Consumer, "you need to

For the data to work for us, we need to follow
a few Internet of Experiences principles: The
data should be collected in non-intrusive ways;
it should be collected from all relevant sources;
the user should be involved in deciding what
data is collected and how it is analyzed;
the analysis should be provided to the user
(or another "thing") in a timely fashion;
and the analysis should provide value (e.g.,
benchmarks, recommendations, predictions),
delighting users and encouraging further use.

transform what is apparently possible. [M]
achines that fit the human environment
instead of forcing humans to enter theirs will
make using a computer as refreshing as taking
a walk in the woods."
More than 20 years after ubiquitous
computing was predicted to become the
dominant mode of computer access, isn't it
time for product design for the Internet of
Things to focus on making things disappear?

Can We Get the Data to Work for Us?
CTO Straight Talk - Issue 1

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of CTO Straight Talk - Issue 1
