I have a friend that owns a marketing company. They've recently rebranded themselves as the marketing compan for the "Internet of Things." -game on.
Your friend should diversify. This was the "smart home" ten years ago and "home automation" ten years before that and "the future home" ten years before that. Small fortunes have been made out of large ones in the attempt to saddle the consumer with superfluous telemetry.
I am sure that it's a lucrative market for a marketing company. It's pretty clear that you have companies that have a lot of work cut out for them selling the idea to consumers. I think any appliance that doesn't do exactly what I want without minimal effort is rage inducing, and I have yet to find any 'anticipation' software aside from Google's instant search that doesn't make the experience worse.
Google Now is convinced I need to know the weather of a gig I was at for a month over a year ago. Google Now gives me more information on searches I've already run. Google Now gives me useless data about concerts I'm not going to, sporting events I don't care about and traffic on roads I don't drive. Google Now is a whingey, repetitive attempt to get me to look at ads from a company whose ad revenues are plummeting.
See I don't get any of that. Wake up in the morning, estimated commute time and traffic report complete with weather. Do a shazam search, and get a little blurb about the artist and a youtube link to the song I searched a few days later once I've forgot about it. Stock updates on the few that I'm interested in (And several that I don't. Search for A lululemon quote ONCE and I'm interested in the financial aspects of yoga pants FOREVER) And top it off with cards about various rehearsals/appointments/etc delivered in a timely fashion. Our mileage seems to vary a LOT. I use Nova Launcher too, but I've only nixed applications that use my mic without telling me first.
It probably comes from the fact that I've evaluated Google to be a clumsy and useless tool for all but the most surface-level investigation. - Wake up in the morning and any given morning doesn't have the same commute. Most have no commute at all. Weather? I am KCAPLAYA2. Google gets its weather from me. Traffic report? This is Los Angeles. Traffic is entirely predicated by Waze, which Google bought, which fucked it up for everyone. - I use SoundHound because it works better, gives me lyrics, gives me iTunes and Play links, and keeps a running tally of everything I've ever asked it for. And since I ask so rarely, that's a dozen links in three years. - Stock research is handled entirely in platforms other than Google. If I'm googling a stock, it means I'm on someone else's computer. - I subscribe to and maintain eight different calendars, only three of which are mastered by me, through four different gmail addresses. Google Now doesn't have the first fucking clue what to do with that, so it tends to tell me about the birthdays of people who follow me on Google Plus, whom I largely don't know, and who are stalkers that I've blocked. Google Now strikes me as a life-simplifier for people with extraordinarily simple lives.
I'd argue that those side streets are underutilized and shifting traffic to them lightens the load on the main thoroughfares enough to be a net benefit. But every driver should be considerate of the context of the road on which they're driving, speeding through residential streets and gliding through stop signs isn't ok anywhere.Traffic is entirely predicated by Waze, which Google bought, which fucked it up for everyone.
I'd argue that otherwise-sane individuals can be cruising down the far left lane of the 405 at 30mph and then Waze says "take the next exit" because that side street is, at this very moment, capable of supporting 33mph. And you can watch them - and I do - immediately cut across four lanes of traffic so they can swoop down to take an already-crowded exit so they can mush through surface streets for one exit and swoop back up on an equally crowded on-ramp. And in the meantime, they're causing accidents as people who do whatever their phones tell them to do are suddenly shocked out of their texting, spotify-listening reverie to fuck up traffic for the rest of us. I'll go one further. Google Maps doesn't default to "avoid toll roads." So a buddy of mine decided he'd take the 110 up from Long Beach into Burbank because Google told him it would be fine. And then he got on the 110, realized he didn't have a traffic pass, dug around in the settings (while driving - an Audi, I might add, to add to the stereotypes) and discovered that actually, his 33 minute drive was going to be 94 minutes. Either that or he could pay $26 in fees and a $25 ticket. There may be places in the world where Waze isn't the antichrist. I'll bet it'll get you around Israel just fine. The one time I used it (in that black period when Google didn't have an updated Maps for iOS and we were stuck with Apple Maps) it A) couldn't find the address B) sent me on side streets for candy C) invited me to interact with the fucking thing the entire time in a municipality where fucking with your phone while driving is a $500 fine. So you can argue that those side streets are "underutilized." But I'd argue that SIDE STREETS ARE SUPPOSED TO BE UNDERUTILIZED and that when we're accepting that apps are permitted to destroy neighborhoods, we can no longer bitch about any horrific thing our pocket toys do to us.
What are the stereotypes about Audi drivers? (I ask in all innocence as a European Audi driver - here they're just standard mom vehicles).while driving - an Audi, I might add, to add to the stereotypes
My impression (could be wrong) is that they're slightly-richer-but-similar-to-BMW-drivers. But what do I know? I drive a Saab 900 (classic, 'cause I'm a dirty old hippie).
I think our equivalent would be the Italian sports car crowd? Here, Audis are in the sensible middle-class category, along with VWs, Volvos and, in fact, Saabs! I love Saab 900s. My best friend's very cool rock star father drove one when we were kids, and I thought it was the absolute height of chic.
I'd buy that for a dollar with one small addendum, because things can be plenty complicated without being digitally complicated.Google Now strikes me as a life-simplifier for people with extraordinarily simple lives.
for people with extraordinarily simple digital lives.