Today’s society is all about convenience. Refrigerators are talking to our phones, groceries can be delivered straight to our doors in a matter of hours, we’re able to stream whole seasons of TV shows in one sitting, and some apps even claim to help us find our soulmate (although the jury’s still out as to whether or not the advent of online dating has helped more than it’s hurt the singles scene).
Embedded in all of these modern day niceties, there is a noticeable need to alleviate the “stressors” of the alternatives that mobile applications have come to replace. No longer is it necessary to go to the dreaded grocery store and wait in long lines to check out; Gone are the days of going to Blockbuster (RIP) only to be disappointed that your favorite movie is out of stock; And we can say goodbye to the frustration of not being able to meet that “perfect” person in real life who checks off all of the boxes on our (ahem, ridiculous) list of qualifications — instead, we can vet potential suitors ahead of time from the comfort of our own homes (a much easier letdown).
Looking back on days of old and the “hardships” one had to “endure” to, say, get groceries, one could argue that it is no wonder society has become obsessed with the luxury of convenience. But at what cost are we paying for the conveniences that we now hold so dear?
Too Great A Price?
In June 2017, the Pew Research Center wrote a report on the implications of the Internet of Things. It found that because humans crave connectivity, “they will seek more of it due to its convenience and out of necessity because it will simply be embedded in more and more things”.
What are the implications of this new digital world, if the IoT and the ever-increasing number of mobile applications have us hurtling towards a convenience addiction?
Some argue that, in an almost ironic way, convenience can enslave us. Tim Wu, professor at Columbia and contributing opinion writer for the New York Times writes in his piece The Tyranny of Convenience, “With its promise of smooth, effortless efficiency, [convenience] threatens to erase the sort of struggles and challenges that help give meaning to life. Created to free us, it can become a constraint on what we are willing to do, and thus in a subtle way it can enslave us.”
Although it’s unlikely that most people think as deeply about the matter as Professor Wu, he does have a point — what is life without experiencing the ups and downs that come with, say, walking all the way to the corner grocery store?
Other than a laziness factor, there could be more serious implications to consider. For example — how safe is our data in this new era of ease and accommodation? Researchers from Cornell University talk about exploitation in today’s digital world in their study aptly named It is Free and Always Will Be — Trading Personal Information and Privacy for the Convenience of Online Services. From our “free” emails, to “free” Facebook, to the growth and prominence of Amazon in our society, they speak of user vulnerability and how companies easily exploit our personal data for profit. As an example, Amazon not only tracks the cookies on Amazon, but on other websites too in order to better tailor ads to buyers. Although this might make sense from a business perspective, when do we say a line has been crossed in the name of accessibility?
…Or Is the Price Not Too Great After All?
The price must not be too steep, though, if we have yet to give up on the apps and services that have provided us with such a convenient lifestyle.
We cannot deny that certain services are truly time saving. For city dwellers, for example, it’s quite possible that grocery delivery allows for more leniency in timing when it comes to getting weekly groceries — instead of having to stop at the store after work, now meals can be delivered during work hours and the receiver doesn’t even have to be home to get the food. Uber is another application that has also allowed for more flexibility. During rush hours when it’s impossible to grab a yellow taxi, it’s almost certain an Uber will be ready for pick up around the corner.
Whether it’s shopping, communication, or travel, convenience-focused apps were created because there was a problem that needed to be solved.
The Pozess Perspective
Per Pew, “As life increases in complexity, convenience is the default setting for most people.” That being said, it is evident that society’s push for all things convenient is becoming unavoidable and if it is unavoidable, those of us working to create a more convenient world — whether that be in commerce, healthcare, finance, or any other sector — must ensure that we are not sacrificing security for ease.
“As life increases in complexity, convenience is the default setting for most people.”
The Pozess concept was created as a support for the desire of convenience in our everyday life, but also as an answer and response to problems arising from conveniences already available in the online retail space.
Indeed, online shopping is here to stay. This is an undeniable fact. Global online retail sales reached $2.3 Trillion in 2017 and by 2021, e-commerce sales are expected to reach 17.5% of global retail sales (per Statista). However, with the “convenience” that Amazon and other monopolistic mega stores provide, shoppers and smaller merchants run into issues that create an unfriendly and discouraging shopping environment — little variety in products, extra fees, shipping hassles, and lack of trust and transparency, are just a few of these issues.
Pozess provides the best online shopping experience by enabling direct connections between users and merchants and by allowing for unique product discovery from local boutiques around the world. Merchants are provided with business tools and a platform to grow their consumer base in a simple, efficient, and low-cost manner. Now how’s that for convenience?!
About Pozess
Pozess is a decentralized social marketplace for fashion and lifestyle products curated by the user community. The concept behind the platform takes social sharing and online shopping and enables users to discover products they have never seen before from retailers all over the world. The recently launched web and mobile application has a user experience similar to apps like Pinterest and Instagram, but differs in that it is built on blockchain so it rids the need for a middleman, and increases trust and transparency between retailers and shoppers.
Unlike in traditional marketplaces where central management chooses which merchants and products will be listed, on Pozess the user community curates their own marketplace by posting the items that can be purchased which, in turn, invites the retailers to join the platform via social media.
Pozess users earn crypto rewards for network building activities such as liking and sharing photos of products and commenting on items. Blockchain ensures that the rewards system is fair and secure and enables transactions to be fast, cheap, and direct.
To partake in the pre-STO, email support@pozess.com.
You can learn more about the Pozess movement by joining the Telegram group and Bitcointalk channel, and by visiting the official Pozess Website.
