What’s more important? Being first or being right? Being first can be good in a relay race or in line to get concert tickets. It’s not quite as useful if you’re reporting misinformation for a major news outlet. You may have seen that CNN posted that the healthcare mandate was struck down then corrected itself about five minutes later that it was upheld. Not only does this sound like “Dewey Defeats Truman,” but to the internet meme generators online, it looks like it too.
Source:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/28/dewey-defeats-truman-obama-photoshop-cnn-photo_n_1634417.html
And now, the Digital Influence Weekly…
Today is the last day of the Google I/O Conference where developers promote, reveal and discuss changes in web development and tech which will either revolutionize how we the people use the web.
One item that caught my eye (pun fully intended) was Google Glass. It’s a piece of head gear which fits over one’s brow, just above the eyes. It’s exactly the kind of futuristic tech you would expect to see in a science fiction movie. Its purpose is to serve as another interface tool with the web allowing people to record and broadcast pictures and videos of what they’re seeing.
It also features augmented reality which adds overlays of information to what you’re looking at. For instance, on your mobile device, try using the Yelp Monocle feature. It activates your camera to show you an overlay of nearby restaurants. This would work somewhat the same on Google Glass.
The main point I want to focus on however is the recording and broadcast features. Often we hear about how social media’s sharing capabilities impact how the customer experience is represented. If someone takes out their mobile device to begin recording their experience, they’re already a few seconds or minutes late in doing so because of the time it takes to get the device out, select the right app, begin recording, add typed commentary and hit publish. Imagine how much faster and more in-depth this experience will be with immediate broadcasting, more vocal commentary and two hands free. Depending on the customer experience, it could be really good or really bad for business.
Businesses could be using this to their advantage. A headseat that broadcasts video and audio can be used for a variety of purposes:
• Lead first person accounts of technical trainings to employees at multiple locations
• Demonstrate Do-It-Yourself tips to customers from a first-person view
• Take customers on a tour of your facilities
• Fix problems in real time which require guidance from experts who can’t be at your location
I don’t know that anyone would want to wear this every second of the day. It’s like having Terminator-vision 24/7, but I bet even he wishes he could just view the world without overlays of information appearing before his eyes.
It will be some time before it’s available to consumers, but it’s never too early to think about how engagement between customers and businesses keep evolving.
