Can the Internet disrupt traditional industries? After the arrival of the Internet, it has drastically changed our life. For example, some friend’s parents studied abroad when they were high school […]
After the arrival of the Internet, it has drastically changed our life. For example, some friend’s parents studied abroad when they were high school or university students. They told that they communicated with their family by sending post cards or sometimes using international call. However, we can communicate with each other much faster, easier and cheaper than they did thanks to the Internet.
For instance, we can make use of several messaging apps such as WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, WeChat and Line. Thanks to these messaging apps, we can not only send messages but also enjoy free calling. Of course, this is only one aspect that shows how the Internet changed our life.
Another example is online maps that allow us to move more freely and easier than before. We can easily remember that we took advantage of paper maps when we traveled abroad 20 or 30 years ago. Now, we are able to find the places where we want to go through online maps such as Google Map and Baidu Maps. As a result, there are so numerous examples to change our life through the Internet.
The Internet not only has changed our life but also disrupted many industries. The automotive industry is a good example. In 2020, the market capitalization of Tesla Inc. surpassed that of Toyota Corporation. However, the total sales of new vehicles in Tesla was less than one thirtieth that in Toyota.
Another example is that a lot of people in the world can enjoy watching streaming services including Netflix, Amazon Prime and Disney Plus. During the pandemic, it becomes more difficult for us to go to the cinemas. In this sense, our demands are changing. Or we might say that our demands are evolving through the Internet. Therefore, companies have to adapt this trend. In other words, many of companies will not be sustainable, if they are failed in catching up with it.
Some experts, including Joe Kaeser, CEO of Siemens, say that “Data is the oil, some say the gold, of the 21st century — the raw material that our economies, societies and democracies are increasingly being built on,” Why is the data important for our economies, societies and democracies?
One reason is that the data can change how we think and act. The electoral interventions by Social Networking Services is one example for this. Next question is: How does the data can change our ways of thinking? The answer could be that we are able to predict our behavior and control it sometimes by collecting, analyzing and using our data. In this sense, the interface between machines and us that gather the data of them is important.
In order to gather more consumers’ data, many companies try to control interfaces between machines and them. For example, Google tries to acquire the smart watch giant, Fitbit. This is because smart watches are able to collect important consumers’ data in relation to their health. Google mentioned that it would not use Fitbit’s data for advertisements. However, if we were to use Fitbit, how would we know whether Google uses data or not for advertisements? Another example is that Procter and Gamble presented its smart products in CES 2020, at Las Vegas.
Of course, competitions to control interfaces just start, but we can say that the races become intensified. In addition to this, we can say that connectivity is the crucial concept in Internet of the Things age. This is because the concept adds value to products, services and even processes. BOSCH’s product is also a good example.
