Gifting relationships

For a very long time, the Christmas present was a brand new smartphone: Apple has been the richest company in the world for quite some time, then competitors like Samsung and Huawei came out and they made glory and fortune too. The world got populated of mobile screens and we all became a bit more lonely and narcissist. Prior to this the memorable gift was a sweater or a tie. Pretty boring social consequences for these, I must admit.
Now, the modern equivalent is a smart speaker. We buy them into the fantasy that Alexa or Google can make our lives easier by scheduling appointments and managing our time or orchestrating smart devices around home or guiding us step to step on how to make the perfect Panettone. Though, at the moment, reports say that people mostly just use them to check the weather, listen to music and ask “fun questions.”

According to predictions from the Consumer Technology Association, shoppers the US alone will buy 22 million smart speakers in 2018.
You may not live in the US, but smart speakers are learning more languages, and the epidemic is destined to spread around the globe soon or after.

And most importantly — you may buy these as a gift: for your loved ones.

However, this is not really about the gadget itself — Amazon and Google in particular, with 64.5 percent and 19.6 percent shares respectively, do not have the ambition to sell these to make money off selling hardware.

Their aim is to beat the others at integrating services into the lives of the population.
And spreading their stronghold in their respective ecosystems.
In other words: be aware you’re not gifting an Amazon Echo; you’re gifting a relationship with Alexa. Amazon can later sell that relationship to brands that hope Alexa users will order their products with their voice. You’re not gifting a Google Home; you’re gifting a closer entwining with Google Search and all the add-on services.

You are giving your loved ones an entry point into the whole wide world of being listened to and looked at by the largest tech companies in the world. With all the data privacy nightmare associated risks, like the one that recently popped out where a user requesting its personal data within the GDPR framework got all audio recordings made from Alexa.. of somebody else. Truly a perfect voyeur nirvana!

With the purchase of a smart speaker you are deciding what relationship you or your beloved one should have with the extended world of innovation, technology services and e-commerce.

Like the old good gift of a smartphone, you are deciding on an affair not on a gadget.

Food for your mind. Gift responsibly and enjoy your festive season!