Synopses & Reviews
50 billion products will be sharing information over the Internet by 2020will yours?Our online interactions form the backbone of companies like Facebook and Twitter and have redefined how we communicate. But what if machines like vehicles, health monitors, and appliances could all become members of your social network and share important information with you about what's happening in your automobile, your home, and your body? Well, the future is already here.
Social machines use everything from tiny, low-cost sensors to powerful embedded computers to securely gather valuable data from a growing collection of connected devicescars, fitness trackers, irrigation systems, power meters, hospital beds, and many more. These machines communicate this data over the Internet to social networks of people and machines who can respond to a problem, deliver a service, or sell a solution. Nike, Ford, Procter & Gamble, and others are already using this technology to develop the next generation of Internet-enabled products and services that will drive the next wave of worldwide product innovation. Consider what's already out there:
- Nike's Nike+ shoe sensors can communicate with a smartphone app, which becomes your fitness guru, motivator, and record keeper
- P&G and Walmart collaborated on a "social vending machine" that instantly distributes free samples of Cascade dish soap when customers use their smartphones to "like" the Cascade page on Facebook
- A Dutch start-up uses wireless sensors on cattle that send a message to farmers when an animal is sick or pregnant
- A wireless heart monitor from Corventis can text a physician when a patient's heart palpitates
Social machines are the next big thing. Experts predict that an estimated 50 billion products will be sharing data over the Internet by 2020. Social Machines is the first book to explain the benefits and the process of connecting machines to a social network and bringing these products to a mass market. It shares step-by-step guidance on how to learn from existing implementations and customize them for your own use.
Who says only humans can be social? "Social" creates a compelling new business model for the Internet of Things. With cutting-edge advice from the forefront of the field, Social Machines will help you leverage this power to enormous advantage for your organization.
Synopsis
Your machines know things about you, and they have some things to sayOur online interactions have formed the backbone of companies like Facebook and Twitter and have redefined social interaction. But what if machines like cars, bikes, health monitors, appliances, ATMs, and kiosks could all become members of your social network, and give you important information about what's happening in your car, your home, and your body? Businesses like Ford, Proctor and Gamble, and dozens of startups are now using social machines to reach new markets, improve brand and market awareness, and increase revenues. Social Machines teaches the benefits and the process of connecting machines to a social network.
- Articulates how "social" is a compelling new business model for the Internet of Things
- Discusses current technologies, such as smart phones and tablets, and how they can/will enable Social Machines
- Teaches how to learn from existing implementations and customize them for their own use
Who says only humans can be social? The next stage of interaction between people and their environment is upon us.
Synopsis
Companies like Facebook and Twitter have redefined social interaction. But what if “machines” like automobiles, bicycles, health monitors, appliances, instruments, and anything else you can connect to the Internet, could all become members of your social network, collect data you care about, and feed it back to you at just the right time? Nike+ is already doing this for your body, but every major industry, from healthcare to cars to home construction, is now building sensors and digital connectivity into their next generation of products. Companies like Ford, Pepsi, Verizon, and Procter and Gamble are also using “social machines” to reach new markets, improve brand/market awareness, and increase revenues.
Social Machines is the first book for business people, marketers, product developers, and technologists, explaining how this trend will change our world, how your business will benefit, and how to create connected products that customers love.
- Explains how smart phones and tablets enable Social Machines
- Describes how digital technology is being “baked in” to the most unlikely new products—even wheelchairs.
- Articulates how the “Internet of Things” is becoming social—and why that’s the foundation for powerful new business models
In the very near future, every great new product will be social. The next stage of interaction between people and our environment is upon us.
Synopsis
"Peter Semmelhack is a pioneer in the open source hardware space and the Internet of Things. By empowering more people to create and modify social machines in increasingly sophisticated ways, he is helping to democratize innovation."
Eric von Hippel, economist and professor at the MIT Sloan School of Management
The next stage of interaction between ourselves and our environment is upon us. In the very near future, every great new product will be socialyour shoes, your car, your bicycle, your home appliancesall collecting data and sharing it with you, whenever and wherever you need it.
Social Machines is the first book for businesspeople, marketers, product developers, and technologists, explaining how this trend will change our world, how your business will benefit, and how to create connected products that customers love. Across every major industry, digital technology is being "baked into" the most unlikely new products, even wheelchairs.
Companies like Ford, Pepsi, Verizon, and Procter & Gamble are using these "social machines" to reach new markets, improve customer experience, and increase revenues.In order for your business to stay competitive, you must learn how to join the "Internet of Things." Social Machines lays the foundation for powerful new business models that will not only change the way you reach consumers, but also the way we live.
About the Author
Peter Semmelhack is the founder and CEO of Bug Labs, developer of an award-winning open source consumer electronics and web services platform, recently featured in MoMA's "Talk to Me" exhibit. As a founding member of the rapidly growing open hardware movement, Peter is a frequent speaker at events around the world. He is also founder, board member, and former CEO of Antenna Software, one of the country's largest mobile enterprise software companies. His work has been covered and discussed by the international media includingthe New York Times,the Economist, the Hindu, Fortune, CNN, Nikkei Business, and Forbes. Peter holds a BA in economics from Brown University.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments ix
Part I Social Machines: An Overview 1
Chapter 1 Introduction 3
Chapter 2 A Social Internet of Things 11
Chapter 3 Why Social Networks Must Evolve 21
Everything Will Get Connected 23
Everything Will Get Smarter 29
Everything Will Get Social 30
We’re Running Out of Humans! 33
Chapter 4 Social Machines and the Future of Humankind 35
Part II Every Product Is a Platform: Rethinking Product Design in the Age of Connectedness 47
Chapter 5 Overview 49
Chapter 6 A Brief History of Abstraction 53
Chapter 7 Social Product Design 65
Connected versus Social 68
Example 1—The Weather Station 73
Example 2—Wheelchairs and Hand Sanitizers 80
Example 3—The Social Bicycle 84
Chapter 8 Avatars and the Social Seven: Unique Characteristics of Social Machines 99
The Social Seven—Overview 102
The Social Seven—Details 105
Chapter 9 Spheres of Use, or Why Your New Product Should Do Things You Never Envisioned 117
Part III The Business of Social Machines 121
Chapter 10 Introduction 123
People Sharing Things 125
Things Sharing Data 130
Chapter 11 How to Build a Business Using Social Machines 137
Retrofit Model 139
Built-in Model 142
Chapter 12 My Customer’s Customer Is My Customer: The Beauty of a Social Value Chain 149
Chapter 13 The Art of Social Pricing 153
Part IV Getting Started 157
Chapter 14 Design Requirements: What Does It Take to Design and Build a Social Machine? 159
But First, a Quick Story. . . 161
How Do I Make My Product Social? 167
Retrofi t Model 183
Built-in Model 185
Chapter 15 Getting There from Here 189
Part V Scenarios 195
Chapter 16 Smart Home 197
Chapter 17 Retail 203
Chapter 18 Transportation 211
Chapter 19 Finance 217
Chapter 20 Health and Wellness 223
Part VI Resources 229
Index 235