Two SXSW Trends for Tuesday

While SXSW has wrapped up, the latest and greatest in technology and marketing strategies are still dancing in our heads and on our social media news feeds. With so many great new tech developments, there’s a whole new world of technological advances that simply make life easier: Google glass, wearable smart watches, fitness monitors and more. These technologies are still very much in their infancy; when our children look back at them, they’ll be seeing the 2030 versions of clunky typewriters or those brick-like mobile phones from the ’80s. This Two-for-Tuesday, let’s take a look at two cutting edge technologies and how marketers are primed to use them to better understand the consumer.

Connected car

What’s the connected car connected to, anyhow? Does it attach to a smartphone like the several other hands-free devices we’ve seen? The connected car is connected to the Internet through a cellular radio either built into the car or through a smartphone. This goes far beyond just connecting an iPod or phone to a hands-free gadget, though. With this technology, you can stream Internet radio, access the Internet and access the most up-to-date navigational information. These cars are also loaded with more advanced hardware for safety, using driver-less-esque technology to automatically regulate cruise control features and prevent collisions with automated braking. Scott Lange, of Team Detroit, told AdWeek that these connected cars are the world’s largest wearable device, and he equates them to an exoskeleton.

Fitness watches

Though there’s much evolution and progress to be made in the wearable tech arena, it’s much agreed that the health and fitness market will reign supreme in the wonderful world of wearable tech. From Nike+ FuelBand to the FitBit to the Jawbone UP, there’s variety for those wanting to monitor their health. These devices will watch calories burned and consumed, steps taken, heart rate and will sync with a smartphone so that you can track bodily functions and health progress. There’s even talk that these devices will adapt to help monitor blood chemistry, which would offer people with diabetes and several other serious health conditions the opportunities to better control their health.

Wearable tech has come a long way, but it has a long way to go. I can’t wait to see what form these gadgets will take when they cease to look like a piece of technology stuck on your wrist and what amazing things they’ll be able to track and monitor.

Cover Photo Source: Alexey Boldin

[author] [author_image timthumb=’on’]https://wpmaster.sjadv.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Our-Space-Mary-Bio-Pic.png[/author_image] [author_info]Mary is an Assistant Account Executive at SJG. She earned her BA in Communication from the University of Evansville in 2013. In her spare time, when she’s not engulfing novels in a coffee shop, Mary feels most at home celebrating life and love with her family and friends, and visiting the streets of Paris in her dreams. [/author_info] [/author]