Why the next big social network could be on your wrist
A new form of communication
There’s no denying technology has changed the way we communicate. What used to be passing notes in class has now become sending emoji’s on your smartphone. It feels as though we spend more time trying to figure out each others feelings based on little characters and text messages than actually talking to each other. The use of emojis certainly isn’t new, especially for those of us that remember the good old days of AOL and AIM having only 16 emoticons to pick from.
It doesn’t take a genius to realize our love for emojis. Why the hell do we love these little aliens so much? It’s simple — the emoji is emotional. Maybe that’s why emoji and emotion both start with “emo”. It’s the quickest way to communicate your emotions with someone else. One little tap and you know if someone is mad or taking a poop. Or both.
Full blown Emoji Convo
Maybe you’ve got enough emoji skills to have an entire conversation with little people. The point here is that we’re using images to signal emotions and both people on either side of the conversation understand exactly what the messages mean.
The next big thing is “Silent Communication”
There’s a new feature in the Apple Watch you don’t realize until you try it out called the Taptic engine. It gives the Apple Watch the ability to provide very subtle and distinct types of taps, pulses and vibrations instead of vibrating the entire watch. This means you could tell the difference from left or right when going for a run, identifying who is calling or texting, or an emergency during a meeting or class when your phone is on Do not disturb.
More importantly, this could be an entirely new way of communicating. Because the Watch can deliver rich information with only slight variations in pace, number, and force of vibrations, this could allow us new ways to communicate. Here are a few use cases off the top of mind:
Status updates — I’m here! / it’s time to leave / something is wrong
Interactions — Signal yes / no / not feeling this / let’s go!
Sports — players notified instantly and quietly of changes in plays
Will the smartwatch help us reconnect?
Distractions everywhere. Information overload. Inability to disconnect. Technology distracts us from the ones we should pay the most attention to — friends, family, or even just a smile from across the room. But maybe technology can give those moments back. The beautiful thing about the smartwatch is that the screen is so small. That’s great because it means you can only use it for brief moments at a time and the information needs to be clear and concise. That means in theory a smartwatch could help you filter out all the bullshit and instead only serve you truly important information.
New York Times is creating One-Sentence Stories just for Apple Watch
A great feature of the Apple Watch is called Short Look. You feel a pulse on your wrist and you just received a text message. You flick your wrist up and see on the screen “Message from John” If you put down your wrist immediately, the message stays unread and the notification goes away. If you keep your wrist up, the message will then be displayed on the Watch. The amount of interest you show in the information and your reaction to it is the only thing the Watch needs to prioritize notifications. It’s interactions like this that Apple has created to help you from having to reach for your phone all day long.
The device creates the social network
Let’s not forget, Facebook wouldn’t exist without us having our computers. Instagram would have never been created if we didn’t have a smartphone with cameras in our pockets. The next big thing in social networking hasn’t yet happened because that device is just starting to take off. That device could be the smartwatch because it’s the most personal gadget ever created, worn on your body and always a glance away.
