The Internet of Now
Those of us old enough to remember the first desktop computers have watched the Internet emerge as perhaps the defining technology of this generation, the one thing that mankind has invented to date which far exceeds the ability of any one person to understand or encompass. It has put large parts of the recorded wisdom of the ages at the disposal of us all, it allows us to keep up with our high school classmates and watch adorable kittens problem solve on demand. To date it has reordered communication, research, education and entertainment to name but a few.
The next big online waves are visible on the horizon and headed our way.
They are the Internet of Things and the Internet of Now. As the internet of things rystallizes most of our personal and domestic technology will eventually get connected to the Internet. Your watch will let you know if you have exercised enough today, your fridge will tell you if you are nearly out of milk and your thermostat will learn how you like the temperature and talk to your home security system. From an investment point of view what's interesting about this area is that although this is very much still an emerging market companies in this space like Nest, the smart thermostat people are already commanding huge valuations. Is it too late to take advantage, probably not, but with multibillion dollar investments already common it won't be cheap to play. What's happening is that more and more of our devices are getting online and the time it takes to get something done or delivered is also dropping dramatically. We are only a few short years away from being able to routinely talk to our devices and have them give us useful data back. That data might be linked to suppliers so that the stuff I need is already on its way from Amazon (perhaps by drone).
As our devices come on line and our world becomes increasingly more convenient and real time so many aspects of our lives are likely to get more and more real time too. We are getting used to following day, perhaps even same day delivery. However when it comes to delivering time sensitive services it's a completely different picture. Have you ever broken down roadside and spent what feels like hours negotiating rescue from AAA or Bob's Tow 'n' Go? Have you ever looked at the mess after that great dinner party and thought "I need a maid and I need her now!" Have you ever had a spare slot in your schedule and thought "Hair…I have to get my hair cut before that interview tomorrow…who can see me now"…or stared at the lake of backed up sewage in your guest bathroom and prayed for a big red "plumber" button on your phone. Each of those areas still rely heavily on people, who may not be available at that time, your phone may be smart but the people you end up talking to may well be idiots. There is clearly need to make these clumsy 'high friction' transactions smooth and seamless. It's going to happen…and sooner than you think.
Along with the rise of the internet came the fall of traditional media…especially local media. Local businesses have largely lost faith with the traditional media which used to bring them new clients but have entirely failed to come to grips with the complex and potentially disastrously expensive mess of new media online. In the same way you wish you had a big red "Plumber" button there are thousands of plumbers out there with gaps in their schedules wishing they had a big red "customer" button…and they will…soon…facilitated through the Internet of Now and Search Initiatives.
The sea change has already started, we just haven't quite understood the magnitude of it yet. Pretty much everyone with an income has a smart phone with internet access. We are well used to talking to service providers to book jobs…what's stopping us from smoothing out the last points of contact between customer and providers to produce the Internet of "Now" for all kinds of service providers. The answer is money, technology, vision and delivery…which is where Search Initiatives comes in…we have all four. What we do today is connect tens of thousands of service providers (Doctors, lawyers, plumbers, landscapers, electricians and beauty spas) with millions of potential customers. We do that by exposing carefully crafted and targeted ads through the crazy matrix of search, social media, real time display re‐targeting to customers with a real need. We do that in real time and at enormous scale. The person to person contact is delivered through the good old fashioned phone call…the one medium understood and trusted by all those involved. What we are doing right now is very fast… it is real‐time‐on‐demand and now to the point where we are able to immediately match need to provider so that all the clients who need plumbers are perfectly matched immediately with the nearest plumber with immediate availability…not quite, but it's coming. When it arrives you may rest assured that Search Initiatives will be the folks behind the big "NOW" button on your phone…and on your plumber's phone.
So as you get used to the idea of your refrigerator reminding you to pick up milk, or your watch telling you that you are 1,000 paces short of your exercise goal, get used to the idea that waiting to get help with all of the other things your life throws at you is going to be a thing of the past. A world where our smart phones can connect us to critical services seamlessly and those providers can acquire new customers as they need them is clearly visible from here. Welcome to the
Internet of Now..
