Making the Connected World "Stupid Easy" - SxSW Talk by Adam Justice
When we talk about connected devices it is easy to get overwhelmed by the vastness of the topic. Visions of flying cars and the Jetson’s futuristic home come to mind, and this can be dizzying. Fortunately, these pictures don’t really do justice to the simple elegance of this technology. In our pockets most of us already carry around smartphones: devices saturated in connectivity. Our phones can receive software updates and improvements all the time. These devices mature with age, making it possible to run the newest programs and features without buying a totally new phone.
This is how the connected world works. Devices connected to the consumer allow, over time, for better products and evolving devices. The problem with the Jetsons prophecy is that no one wants to go to the store and replace everything they already have in their home. Installing connectivity into the preexisting fabric of home ecosystems is what IoT companies are after. Devices should be interactive to run and stress-free to update in order for them to be adopted by the public. As Adam Justice, our VP at Grid Connect, likes to say: “It needs to be stupid easy.”
This idea has become even more plausible in recent years. When Grid Connect began about twelve years ago, it cost around $100 to integrate WiFi into a single product. Now, that number has dropped consistently below $10, allowing for the recent induction of many new companies looking to develop products for the Internet of Things.
View Adam Justice's full Ignite talk at SxSW 2015 here.