Notification Technology

Ever had a confirmation email or text message? That's notification technology. Alerts or "comfort messages" that tell you things are on track (an application, a service process, whatever) or that something is ready (a car to collect, a ticket about to expire, etc).

Sirs, I have tested your machine. It adds a new terror to life and makes death a long-felt want. - Herbert Beerbohm Tree, Response to a request from a gramophone company for an endorsement.

At one level these are quite simple - log into a parking meter service and it sends you a text message when you are within 5 minutes of the expiry time of your current ticket. The technology is however capable of greater sophistication, particularly when integrated with other customer contact methods.

Copyright 2006 Robert A Innes

A connected World

We now live in a connected world. Don't believe me? Look around. This week, I have received a text message from my motor vehicle repair centre confirming a date for a vehicle service, I recieved an email about my Starbucks card, advising of a special tasting at my local coffee shop, I browse the web with my laptop at hotspots and have the charge sent direct to my T-Mobile mobile phone bill and I receive live schedule information on Edinburgh City buses at bus stops. This all happened this week. And it's only set to increase. What is strange is how different this is to just a few short years ago, and yet how normal it seems.

I passed through Glasgow on the way here and couldn't help noticing how different it was from Venice - Raymond Asquith

What ties these services together? It's convergence. Finally after years of promises, converged media and devices is a real option for millions of us. Never before has so much information been packaged, integrated and presented across channels and devices, often in real time. Alerts, comfort messages, offers & promotions, advisories, etc.

What makes it relevant and manageable is the personalisation. The messages come in a form, at a time, in a location and with content that helps make my daily life a little easier. 12 minutes before the number 26 bus comes? OK, I'll go get my Grande Skinny Latte, rather than wait. When is that service scheduled? I'll just check my phone inbox.

What's really amazing is how 'normal' this starts to become. If we all stopped and thought about it we'd be shouting at each other - "Look how cool this is!!!!" but we go on with our day, "Yup, the plumber has just been to check the radiators and he recorded his time on a mobile device little larger than my phone and I signed the screen. Oh yes, this is just normal." Are you kidding me? How did we move from not being able to programme video recorders to having trades-people record their time on digital devices and automatically bill us?

Yes indeed, it is a connected world. And if you think it's cool today, just wait and see what's round the corner.

Copyright 2007 Robert A Innes