The internet can't be touched yet a term often mentioned is the Internet of Things. We often think of things as being material items which we have physical control over. How can there be an Internet of Things? How does this affect website design?
Even if you haven't heard of the Internet of Things there is a good chance that you own something that can connect to your mobile phone, Wi-Fi, a car or other parts of your digital life.
It's about connecting together things that were previously unconnected. Even t-shirts that are given to the patrons of gyms are being tagged with RFID (Radio-frequency identification) which emit a signal if they are taken out of the gym resulting in an embarrassing alarm focusing attention your way.
More things are being connected but there is a problem and as usual it's the website developers and user experience designers who can solve it. This is where I come in.
The Internet of Things is still emerging and there isn't yet a physical product that makes an engaging, widely used digital product. The repeated idea of the fridge that tells you when your milk is going off is still just an idea. An interesting idea but one which no one really wants just yet.
Website design and user experience are nothing without the idea and you can be sure that when a revolutionary idea to exploit the physical-digital world comes about then website design professionals such as myself will be ready and waiting.
