Wednesday 9 November 2011

How Internet giants plan to take over the physical world

Final session today was another Maverick one! This was looking at how traditional business models and industries might be disrupted by the large Internet companies moving into them.
Everything will be connected in 2016 and beyond.
More than 25% of commercial and tourist places will be found on social networks allowing users to check in
Over 10% of consumer items will have an IP address
20+ billion devices will be connected to the Internet
More than 50% of US population will have a profile on a social network

So, if everything is connected to the Internet , Internet business modules will apply in the physical world, and will take away market share. Google could take over parking. Connect parking spaces to internet, mash up with google maps....

A few areas were explored and presented as battles. 

Battle 1: Retail
Amazon vs the retailers.
By 2016 more than 5% of digital transactions will be initiated from an image, video, audio or sensor captured in the physical world. Can already take a picture of an item in the Amazon app, and it will recognise it and direct you to one click purchase. So you can be in a shop, comparing prices, and ordering from amazon. 

Battle 2: Advertising
Google vs print, broadcast, signage
By 2016 more than 5% of search queries will be initiated from an image, video, audio or sensor captured on a mobile device not a keyboard. Already possible in google. Take a picture of things, google will search. When this image recognition improves, anything in the physical world is a search term.

Battle 3:  Manufacturing
Google vs standard manufacturing.
3D printing can already manufacture things with moving parts etc. in future will be able to manufacture toys at home. Google already has a 3D model warehouse. 
Will manufacturers get into selling 3D models?  

Battle 4 public sector
Radnet. A public sector service in the US for measuring for radiation
vs
Pachnet. A portal for the Internet of things. If you use search term "radiation" find everything streaming information about radiation levels, lots in Japan. 

Battle 5: Payment
Apple iTunes vs Visa, MasterCard etc
Mobile payment will soon be mainstream in phones, but who will get the payment transaction? Visa, MasterCard etc wants to be behind transaction, but what if apple have own payment system, so charged to iTunes account. What if apple could bring transaction cost down?

Battle 6: Social public services
Social workers vs Facebook
Research has shown that with the right algorithms you can determine depression etc in students. By analysing their Facebook updates. Also, when they display those symptoms, others in their social networks reach out to help them.  Won't put social workers out of business, but could be complementary to them.

Battle 7: Car insurance
Google vs insurance companies
Pay as you drive insurance exists in some places. In other places you pay premium at beginning of year. Pay as you drive is based on the mileage that you do and is now starting to look at other factors including how fast you accelerate and decelerate, also where you go.  Who's better at tracking driving? Satnav paired with an insurance company? Or Google via your android phone? 

Battle 8: Healthcare
Currently sites like WebMD are reference sites only, no attempt is made to give medical advice. But, if you commie this information with smart phones? There are already apps to calculate risk of skin cancer, do blood analyses. Currently assessing risk not making diagnosis. But if they get better? Remote diagnosis and Internet prescriptions?

Lots of opportunities. Sometimes only need a little bit of extra technology, image recognition, NFC, location awareness, to have big impact. 

Finished with a picture of what looked like a shop with a guy scanning items in it. Only it wasn't a shop, it was a subway wall in Korea covered with a picture of items on shelves. You can take a picture of the items, and it adds them to you shopping basket and delivers them to you, shopping whilst waiting for the subway.   Online sales have increased by 130% since its introduction?

3 comments:

pj said...

the Korean "shop on a wall" is great but I believe you still can't a mobile signal or wireless in a London tube station - London, Olympic City 2012? - get Gerry Pennell back and ask him why

pj said...

here's the article from the telegraph http://goo.gl/pUEQB - just QR codes - nothing technically exceptional. Clever idea though Tesco.

George Credland said...

I've used WebMD but you have to be careful as symptoms can have many possible causes. Partially informed self diagnosis could make matters far worse. Hard to replicate professional observation and intuition.