The Evolution of Web Apps & Human Interaction
I was motivated to write this blog in thinking about how as we increasingly accept the internet and online applications, our interactions will evolve in two ways. Firstly, applications will emerge to address the unexpressed, hidden needs of users. Secondly, human behaviour in some societies and cultures will evolve so that technology access becomes one of those basic needs.
This musing was triggered by reading about Mizpee, an online guide to restrooms, complete with location-aware mobile interface, user community features and integrated advertising. The first reaction to this concept is one of mild amusement - it is pretty funny to think someone not only spent time to develop this solution but built a business model as well.
However, going beyond this, I realised that the target audience for this application was enormous. Everybody on the move at one stage or another, needs to go. And most people would travel an extra block for better facilities. It's just that we never compare notes with friends or family about the experience. This application was tapping into a true need for their target audience - apparently biker gangs are amongst the biggest users.
In addition to the potential volume of the audience, tapping into an underlying need attracts online advertisers like flies to a low-rating restroom. Tying together location and information about the human condition is incredibly powerful - you know where they are, you know they are outside their usual habitat and - for one reason or another - they need to go. Local hotels, chemists, convenience stores etc can access high value online advertising in a whole new model that isn't supported by applications using the traditional web model.
Anyway, the point of all this is that the ubiquitous nature of technology in penetration and social acceptance, coupled with the amount of data available, is giving rise to;
a. Unexpected expression of human needs and desires; and
b. New ways to fulfil those needs through technology and create new markets.
The most successful industry which has tapped into these hidden needs has been the adult entertainment industry. By making online a channel of convenience where anonymity can be assured, all manner of human needs have been fed, from basic content, through a range of fetishes, to connecting people with similar interests and providing easy commerce to make our most secret purchases. Tapping into this basic human need has been incredibly profitable for the industry and advertisers alike.
Unfortunately, the dark-side of this evolution in-step with technology is the reduced barriers for everyone to access high-risk, potentially dangerous material. This ranges from early access to adult content by immature adolescents, to easy access to material that feeds on healthy human needs and urges. This content may be pornographic, bigoted or violent. Historically, an individual needed some basic hurdles to overcome - they had to be big enough to at least fake being of legal age, had to leave the house, had to attend meetings with likeminded people. Technology has removed these barriers in interaction and we need to contend with how our culture will evolve in response.
There are other more well known examples of success through realising human needs and human needs changing through technology. Social networking sites have tap into the human need for community and interaction while satisfying underlying drivers - comfort, safety, and control. Despite first gaining traction amongst the digital natives, the adoption by the elderly and baby boomer generation shows that these needs are universal and able to be satisfied via online interaction.
In addition to the evolution of online applications, human interaction is evolving symbiotically, particularly amongst the younger adopters in developed countries where technology is driving and extending the definition of human needs. Multi-channel interaction anytime, anywhere is becoming the expectation and instead of communicating directly, younger users are expressing themselves openly to the masses through blogs, videos, etc. A recent survey of teens and online media found 93% of United States teens now use the internet and over a quarter of them (28%) interact across telephony, IM, SMS, email and social networking sites. And this segment is the most “communicative”, involved in significantly more interactions, across more channels.
Where will these evolving threads take the internet? Ultimately, all of us are a unique blend of wants, needs, fears, preferences, etc. And applications will go through several innovation spirals quite rapidly, diversifying and consolidating as niches are expanded into addressable markets and new niches emerge. However, one of the characteristics of the internet is that once an application exists, it continues to exist until someone pulls the plug - literally.
In an environment of application proliferation, users will increasingly look to tailored environments that meet their needs, composing segment-of-one experiences. It is this platform or containers that the big boys are straining to own, with Google, MS, Apple, Facebook et al, battling hard to deliver the application of your life.
This musing was triggered by reading about Mizpee, an online guide to restrooms, complete with location-aware mobile interface, user community features and integrated advertising. The first reaction to this concept is one of mild amusement - it is pretty funny to think someone not only spent time to develop this solution but built a business model as well.
However, going beyond this, I realised that the target audience for this application was enormous. Everybody on the move at one stage or another, needs to go. And most people would travel an extra block for better facilities. It's just that we never compare notes with friends or family about the experience. This application was tapping into a true need for their target audience - apparently biker gangs are amongst the biggest users.
In addition to the potential volume of the audience, tapping into an underlying need attracts online advertisers like flies to a low-rating restroom. Tying together location and information about the human condition is incredibly powerful - you know where they are, you know they are outside their usual habitat and - for one reason or another - they need to go. Local hotels, chemists, convenience stores etc can access high value online advertising in a whole new model that isn't supported by applications using the traditional web model.
Anyway, the point of all this is that the ubiquitous nature of technology in penetration and social acceptance, coupled with the amount of data available, is giving rise to;
a. Unexpected expression of human needs and desires; and
b. New ways to fulfil those needs through technology and create new markets.
The most successful industry which has tapped into these hidden needs has been the adult entertainment industry. By making online a channel of convenience where anonymity can be assured, all manner of human needs have been fed, from basic content, through a range of fetishes, to connecting people with similar interests and providing easy commerce to make our most secret purchases. Tapping into this basic human need has been incredibly profitable for the industry and advertisers alike.
Unfortunately, the dark-side of this evolution in-step with technology is the reduced barriers for everyone to access high-risk, potentially dangerous material. This ranges from early access to adult content by immature adolescents, to easy access to material that feeds on healthy human needs and urges. This content may be pornographic, bigoted or violent. Historically, an individual needed some basic hurdles to overcome - they had to be big enough to at least fake being of legal age, had to leave the house, had to attend meetings with likeminded people. Technology has removed these barriers in interaction and we need to contend with how our culture will evolve in response.
There are other more well known examples of success through realising human needs and human needs changing through technology. Social networking sites have tap into the human need for community and interaction while satisfying underlying drivers - comfort, safety, and control. Despite first gaining traction amongst the digital natives, the adoption by the elderly and baby boomer generation shows that these needs are universal and able to be satisfied via online interaction.
In addition to the evolution of online applications, human interaction is evolving symbiotically, particularly amongst the younger adopters in developed countries where technology is driving and extending the definition of human needs. Multi-channel interaction anytime, anywhere is becoming the expectation and instead of communicating directly, younger users are expressing themselves openly to the masses through blogs, videos, etc. A recent survey of teens and online media found 93% of United States teens now use the internet and over a quarter of them (28%) interact across telephony, IM, SMS, email and social networking sites. And this segment is the most “communicative”, involved in significantly more interactions, across more channels.
These behaviours are also moving out of just chatty girls and increasingly into our home and work, establishing the ability to communicate effectively across multi-channels and maintain multiple interactions as necessary skills for work and play – a new selection criteria in our human evolution.
Where will these evolving threads take the internet? Ultimately, all of us are a unique blend of wants, needs, fears, preferences, etc. And applications will go through several innovation spirals quite rapidly, diversifying and consolidating as niches are expanded into addressable markets and new niches emerge. However, one of the characteristics of the internet is that once an application exists, it continues to exist until someone pulls the plug - literally.
In an environment of application proliferation, users will increasingly look to tailored environments that meet their needs, composing segment-of-one experiences. It is this platform or containers that the big boys are straining to own, with Google, MS, Apple, Facebook et al, battling hard to deliver the application of your life.
