Every year, hundreds of thousands of technology lovers gather in Las Vegas to geek out on the latest and greatest in technology at the International Consumer Electronics Show (CES). At CES, we saw a plethora of ingenious ideas that are sure to make quite a splash this year from tablets that are neat to appliances that tweet. One central theme we saw was connectivity. A majority of the platforms, gadgets and more shared in common the goal of making people’s digital lives more connected whether from one device to another, one network to another, one country to another – you get the idea.
2010 was deemed the year of social. We are in an era where everything is headed in that direction. We have evolved from simply connecting with our friends on Facebook to checking-in on Foursquare at our local Starbucks. One of the reasons everything is going social is because we all crave connectivity – to our friends, family and even total strangers. 2011 will be the year of connectivity.
At CES, the “Internet of Things” – the idea that everyday objects have the ability to connect with the Internet and each other – became a reality. Using “smart technology”, LG, Panasonic and Samsung are revolutionizing household products by enabling them to email, browse the Internet, and even tweet. Yes, you read correctly, tweet. Many of you are probably asking yourself, “Why would I tweet from my fridge?” The truth of the matter is, it’s not about IF you would tweet from your fridge, but the fact that you CAN. Want to give your laundry an extra tumble but you’re not at home? Not to worry, you can tell your dryer to do it from your smartphone. Patrick Steinkuhl, LG's product insight manager explains, “Imagine an oven that's so smart that on the day of the big game it's able to send you a text and say, 'Hey, your roast is about done. You'd better get in the kitchen’.”
As household appliances and digital devices, such as tablets, TVs and more become more connected, social media will be a huge element. Our TVs will suggest what we should watch based on what our friends watch because the TVs are connected through Facebook. We’ll tweet our friends from the fridge to tell them what to bring over for dinner. Social media integration will be a key element in the age of connectivity. But with all this connectivity will come clutter. Tools like Wowd will be necessary to cut the clutter to surface the people and topics that you actually want to be connected with.
What struck you most about CES news this year? Is there something in your digital/social life you wish was more connected? Tell us your thoughts!
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