Originally published at MarketExpress on April, 3rd, 2014
SMAC - Social, Mobility, Analytics and Cloud, is the buzz-word of todays. Until one-two years ago Cloud was big, which now just seems like yet another available device or medium to access, store and compute data and information.
Lets start from the very beginning, a few of our teachers would have told the stories of how they ran their experiments using punch cards, and how careful they used to be which doing so, as computers and computing was not so easily accessible, less than 100 years ago. Further, less than 25 years ago, in 1991 the very first website was developed. Then came way of sharing information over internet, directory listing and search made a few companies big and they helped people access or find relevant websites. Electronic mail again was a cool invention of the time. And the killer product of this era was mobile phone, that empowered people with ability to connect from anywhere, at anytime.
People have travelled ever-since, as we could read in history - for work, or general exploration. As a natural extension to that, Internet, with ability to have a mobile phone that can run a few apps, and social networks websites give people the ability to be connected as well, while on the move. Cloud provides the infrastructure to make it possible and analysis of the big (volume of) data makes it to be used in real world scenario.
It sounds little complicated, as developer, to understand how to reflects human’s way of thinking into machines. On the other hand, user is able to accept mistakes made by humans but not by machines.
We humans always seek to be liked, understood, accepted, have access to the required information or tool, and so on, as it is the most natural way of thinking for us. So, there is a race to develop applications or devices to assist humans to a great extent with all their daily routine, and tasks while using to the information present across the globe.
The term, SMAC helps one travel light (C), gives freedom or mobility (M) and understanding (A), and also the pseudo feeling of safety and reliability (S) by being surrounded by (connected with) family, friends or trustworthy people.
This virtual worlds seems so appealing - as we are moving towards individualisation - because it doesn’t constraint an individual, for putting time for managing relationships, and also gives a pseudo feeling of being understood or accepted - which is so fundamental to humans.
There is a facility available to smart-phone users in the form of various apps stores on mobiles. Success stories like Flipkart, Kindle, Angry Birds, redBus, WhatsApps etc. are appealing. On the other hand, it also empowers the most non-technical community with the ability to make finance related improvements [M-PAiSA], get help remotely [for farmers - vKVK], and to have the access of information even at the remotest area in a village for self up-gradation, while fulfilling one’s daily responsibilities [APTUS].
This world of High Technology Product Development offers a Life Long Learning to the ones who develop it, and also to the ones who use it - at a very fast pace.
The world is full of diversity, so are people and their lifestyles. Apps and products can be popular if they are personalised for individuals, race or population - and SMAC provides the framework to make it happen in today’s context.
Starting with wearable technology, very soon we are moving towards a seamlessly and wirelessly connected world, equipped with the ability of gesture-based task execution using emotional computing.
However, as nothing is perfect - this concept also seems like a half empty glass, where people get so hooked to this virtual world that they forget making real world connects. Nir Eyal, at Stanford defines “Hooks Model” to understand this virtual world and related behaviour of human beings.
As developer, researcher, users etc., whatever manner we are connected with it, we have to maximise its usage to upgrade the lifestyle of humans of all races, and also be careful that we do dot create a world of MATRIX.
Comments
Post a Comment