DDB Influences #4
This month you’ll learn about how new technologies are transforming our interaction with digital in general and brands specifically. Further more you’ll see how new Social Networks like Snapchat and Periscope change the way we communicate by bringing back the right to forget.
May 2015
This edition’s topics:
Intuitive Brand Interactions: With new technologies people are about to develop a truly intuitive relationship with digital devices, software and — of course — brand experiences.
Ephemeral Media: How Snapchat & Periscope change the way we communicate and allow us to communicate without regrets.
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1. Intuitive Brand Interactions
“Determined to feed their ever-intensifying addictions to digital information AND live in the present moment, consumers are demanding new, more natural forms of interaction with technology.”
Yes: people are distracted by digital technologies. The Digital Detox movement is one symptom to manage the massive amount of information we are confronted with. Another one is that people are more and more adapting to new forms of interacting with digital devices, software and brands: “About 55 percent of the 18-and-under crowd uses Voice Search or Siri more than once a day, while 41 percent of grownups do the same”.
Apple’s definition of technology pays attention to this:
“We believe technology is at its very best when it’s invisible. When you’re conscious only of what you’re doing, not the device you’re doing it with…”
New technologies are fueling the consumer need for more natural communication. We are on the cusp of the next level of digital enhanced interactions that feel more natural and make brand experiences more instantaneous than ever.
What’s the influence?
We have already seen Google Glass failing to form new interaction patterns, but we should not think that this is the end. Quite the contrary: with Oculus Rift there is a billion $ business that aims to not less than revolutionize how we interact with technology. Brands that ignore this sign, run the risk of becoming irrelevant.
Sci-Fi interaction and real life are converging.
Sci-fi movies have always been a source of inspiration and oracle for real-life developments. There is a big enthusiasts-scene solely around movies’ interface designs — with The Avengers as its poster-boy.
And Spike Jonze’s movie Her unclosed a new dimension of interaction with machines — by making it as human as possible, discussing love (and empathy) between a man and a software:
Let’s see how these futurist interactions are becoming reality: via a) gesture, b) voice, c) tactile and d) Augmented reality experiences that make communicating with digital more human than ever.
a) Gesture interaction.
The latest example of gesture interaction that enables us to have more natural experiences with technology in general and our daily digital companions in specific is Google’s Project Soli: can’t touch this.
IKEAS’s prototype of the table of the future is another eye-opening example that lets users interact with technology through gestures. The technology adjusts its interface to the movements of the customer and objects placed on the table: recipes and quantities are displayed automatically. The future of cooking looks easy as pie.
b) Voice activated interaction.
Amazon’s Echo is an e-commercial example of using voice recognition: kind of creepy that Amazon is listening to you at any time. But be sure to never run out of… anything — even more convenient than these dash-buttons.
Google just made a huge step to a more natural voice control of your smartphone (Facebook too is working on something). With the latest Android update they put a voice-search-pattern above all functions and app:
c) Tactile interaction.
Between all the push-notifications we get, those that really count might fade into the background. This is where Tactspace comes in: the little device makes sensory messaging easier than ever.
d) Augmented Reality interaction.
One of the most successful Kickstarter campaigns ever. Bought by Facebook for 2 billion $: Oculus Rift is actually the most exciting project in interaction design. The virtual reality headset not only puts a screen in front of your eyes, it is building the future of interaction:
“VR will be the ultimate input-output device. Some people call VR “the last medium” because any subsequent medium can be invented inside of VR, using software alone. Looking back, the movie and TV screens we use today will be seen as an intermediate step between the invention of electricity and the invention of VR. Kids will think it’s funny that their ancestors used to stare at glowing rectangles hoping to suspend disbelief.”
By:
Sven Grammes, @sgrammes // Digital Strategic Planner
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2. Ephemeral Media
In times where it is no secret that the biggest players in social media are capturing our data, there is a growing need for new channels that allow us to communicate without regrets. This is what Snapchat and Co. are promising. Because in short Ephemeral Media means nothing more than that these media quickly self-destruct after been sent or posted. To add to this, they even put an intimate 1-to-1 experience and a catch-it-or-you’ll-miss-it nature on top. Especially the younger generation enthusiastically adopts these new ways of communicating — reason enough for us to look into the changes these media brings.
When was the last time you posted something on Facebook without thinking about who’s going to read it and what they’re going to think about it?
What’s the influence?
With Ephemeral Media we’re seeing a shift in the way, social media is being used. Instead of capturing moments for the future that have already passed (like on Instagram or Facebook), they focus on what’s happening right now. This celebration of the present is a unique opportunity for brands as it opens up new ways to interact more intimately and authentic with consumers. And: there is a lot of first-mover potential as we have seen very little brand activity within Ephemeral Media so far.
With the comprehensive, omnipresent state of digital advice and social media, people have accepted the inevitability of social networks recording almost everything, forever. Facebook is even going one step further and uses the data to create yearly reviews in the form of short videos. In the extreme case of Eric, Facebook reminded him repeatedly of the death of his daughter the year before, because Facebook’s algorithm identified it as special event he should remember.
The new forms of Ephemeral Media or Temporary Media bring back parts of the privacy and intimacy we lost in the past, by not storing our data (semi-)publicly Social Media apps that live-stream or memorize content only temporary are the first examples of this movement.
With over 100 million users Snapchat is the third most-popular social media app among Millennials—and one of the biggest players in this market.
The app allows you to take photos, record videos, add texts and drawings and send them to friends. After a few seconds, they disappear from their phones.
The Live-streaming Apps, Periscope and Meerkat, take the idea of temporary communication even one step further. Both apps are very easy to use and allow people to live-stream directly from their phones. Anyone can start a broadcast of him or herself at any moment and announce it to all of their Twitter followers. They can just tune in, follow the broadcast and comment directly in the stream. When it’s done, the video disappears.
A few days ago, we were following a Meerkat live-stream of an Italian restaurant and participated in a discussion in real time. The owner of the restaurant was actually mentioning our name into the camera when we entered the stream. What a warm welcome.
In contrast to Meerkat, the Twitter-owned Periscope offers users the chance to save broadcasts, too. It is often described as Meerkat on steroids, because it combines live-streaming with functionalities from WhatsApp, Snapchat and a deep integration with Twitter’s own Social Graph.
Probably one of the greatest „Periscoping- moments“ so far was the fight between Mayweather and Pacquiao. Instead of paying $99,95 to watch the fight on HBO, people tuned into Periscope, where others were broadcasting the fight free from their TV screens or directly from the event. HBO and Co. reported 66 fight-related copyright violations — some reaching up to 10,000 viewers.
The Live-Streaming Apps already have the attention of big brands, which have already started to experiment with these tools. Unsurprisingly, Red Bull has been one of them, testing Periscope during the Miami Music Week, where they live streamed what was happening at the Red Bull Guest House.
Critically, it would not be entirely correct to say that these new media are eliminating the negative consequences of social media. They are only reducing them. It is still possible to screenshot the snaps or to record the live-stream. Regardless, Generation #yolo seems quite attached to the ephemeral nature of the networks. It’s live. It’s fire-and-forget. No worries, no consequences.
By:
Henrik Niehus // Junior Strategic Planner
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Published by the Planning department of DDB Germany.
Concept by Oskar Valdre, Sven Grammes & Nina Rieke.
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Want more insights? Don’t hesitate to contact us:
Laura Maroldt, Laura.Maroldt@de.ddb.com // Head of Corporate Communications
