Why publishers should care about wearables
Everyone is talking about wearable tech and internet-connected or “smart” devices, reports Mediashift. And rightfully so. According to the research firm Canalys, the market is expected to triple in size next year alone based on mainstream consumer adoption.
However, few are talking about the implications for digital publishers and why they should pay attention. From Pebble and Samsung’s Galaxy Gear to Apple’s rumored iWatch and Google’s brand new operating system designed for smartwatches — new internet-connected devices, particularly smartwatches, are taking off and poised to disrupt how content is produced, consumed and shared.
It’s brand new territory for publishers and an exciting opportunity to get in front of new and existing readers in a really thoughtful and engaging way.
We’ve gone from desktops to laptops to tablets to mini tablets and the smartwatch is in many ways just a further minimization of screen sizes. It connects to your smartphone over bluetooth and can do things like show you text messages and incoming calls. In many ways it’s a new display and extension of your smartphone. But some can also run apps and even take photos or respond to voice commands. As they continue to evolve, they’re becoming more than notification centers for smartphones and being utilized as independent computers.
Consumers want smartwatches for different reasons. For some, they’re great for the office because it’s more polite to glance at your wrist in a meeting than pull out your phone to gauge the urgency of an incoming call, text or email. And they’re taking off with fitness gurus who like to track how far they’ve biked or get turn by turn directions or control their music right from their wrist. But another reason consumers are excited about smartwatches is because they can read and get information on them.