Why would I ever need that?

This week in class we talked about the Internet of Things (IoT), and I opened up our discussion by asking what kinds of devices the students had in their homes that connected to the Internet. I meant non-computer, non-tablet, non-cell-phone-like devices. Things that you’d look at and think, “That’s a home appliance, not a computing or network device.”

To my surprise, no one spoke up. In fact, I got a lot of blank stares.

Let’s contrast this with our discussion the previous week, where we talked about how the Internet had changed business. How did the students get their music? Off the Internet, even when driving. I, in contrast, still listen to FM radio. Had they used ride-hailing apps? Oh yes. We had reviewed statistics that had shown that users of ride-sharing services are predominantly less than 45 years old. Ok, I’m a bit older than that, and I also still prefer to use public transportation to get around Boston (i.e., buses and the T).

The IoT, it appears, is mostly invisible to our younger generation. Why, I began to wonder, do I want to control my thermostat over the Internet, but I’m perfectly happy to walk 0.8 miles to wait in the T station for the next train to arrive? Why do my kids expect Lyft to show up instantaneously and outside our front door, but probably can’t find the thermostat inside that same house?

At first I thought the answer might be related to our age and place in life. I’ve used public transportation for many years, and putting aside the recent failures of the T to run when we really need it, public transportation has served me just fine. Why do I need to change? But wait, my thermostat has worked perfectly well and very reliably for years too. Why would I want to replace it with one that might have software bugs? This line of reasoning didn’t seem to get me anywhere.

When you’re out of ideas what do you do? Yup, I typed “Who buys Nest products” into Google. I had hoped that this search would provide me with demographic information on those consumers buying Nest products, but other than the top hits directing me to Nest’s homepage, its online store page, and its “Where to buy” page, I was directed to pages discussing Google’s original acquisition of Nest and a couple of pages reviewing the performance of the acquisition two years later. While scanning these articles, it hit me: Nest sells gadgets.

Obvious, I know, but think about it. I grew up in a hardware-dominated generation. Yes, software existed, but the hardware mattered more. Today’s students have grown up in a software world. It’s an app that gets Lyft to show up. Yes, there’s an app for the Nest Thermostat, but you have to buy the thermostat to ever have any interest in getting the app.

It was also interesting to read the contrast between Google buying Nest for $3.2B in 2014 and Apple’s acquisition of Beats for $3B also in 2014. Both are hardware companies, but Beats sells accessories for your Internet-connected phone. Nest sells home appliances that connect to the Internet and simply use the phone for remotely controlling the device. Today, Beats is booming and Nest is viewed as an acquisition failure for Google.

The bottom line here is that I, with my hacked together “Internet-connected home,” am probably not a good example of the immediate future for IoT-focused, consumer companies. The only people I know with these devices in their homes are those who have received birthday gifts from me lately (and employed me as their IT help). The Wired article by Daniel Burrus that we read for this week’s class said, “[w]hen we start making things intelligent, it’s going to be a major engine for creating new products and new services.” A lot of things are getting smarter, but it feels like we’re a ways off from the kind of consumer success we’re seeing in the app world.