How can we design an internet of things for everyone (not just alpha geeks)?

Via CNN:

What will people do with the new connected devices and tools that have just become available? And how should those tools evolve to best suit people’s needs? And what businesses will grow from the desire (and eventually the need) for them in our lives? The alpha geek in me is excited once again, but my product designer side knows that in order to be meaningful in people’s lives, products and their associated data have to be presented within specific, human-centered contexts.

How can we design an internet of things for everyone (not just alpha geeks)?

Points:

  • “We know that connected devices are possible, but we’re not exactly sure why we need them.”
  • “These products can offer us interesting glimpses into our own personal habits and health, providing tools to change behavior.”
  • “These products can connect us to other people in new ways.”
  • “…connected objects will allow for a team dynamic, where physical aspects (location, laps run, miles walked) can be represented via on-screen graphics or another means of showing measurements such as light or sound.”
  • “The internet of things gives us is the ability to expose measurements that were previously invisible.”
  • “…what I think is most promising is the ability for people in different parts of the world to band together to offer “macroscopic” views of a particular measurement.”