Stop calling it the ‘Internet of Things’

Stop calling it the ‘Internet of Things’

Good morning, All,

CES was last week and everyone was abuzz about the Internet of Things. We came across an article and we have to agree: Stop calling it the ‘Internet of Things’. The name is just dumb. Almost as dumb as was the term ‘New Media,’ which was ubiquitous in the 90s, in the nascent days of the consumer web. It was a term that got old fast. The writer of the article suggested we call it SmartTech, or Smartech, which we personally believe is just as amorphous. How about Connected Devices? We do realize that they’re not all devices, but we would suggest separating hardware from other internet’s other ‘things.’

It’s too bad there’s such a disconnected between tech and advertising. In advertising, on balance, they know how to name things, or used to, at least. We were an advertisig copywriter at one point in our illustrious career, and part of our job was to name products. True story: back in the day and around the time that the name ‘New Media’ was coming into its own, an art director we had once worked with had to come up with a name for a new software. The client meeting was Monday. He had squat and we had tickets to Cirque du Soleil on Saturday. Our friend was worried about the presentation and didn’t particularly want to be pried out of his offic, but we can be very convincing and promised that he could return to work after the show and who couldn’t spare two hours over a weekend, just to take a break and maybe come back with a fresh perspective? The two of us went. The circus did inspire him and we did have dinner afterwards, because during the show, the name for the product had suddenly struck him.

It’s a new year, clean slate and for the record, here are the Top 20 Reasons Why Startups Fail. In our humble opinion, another reason is that entrepreneurs fail to take a step back, walk away from the problem, maybe sleep on it, and come back to it ‘fresh eyes.’ Sometimes, taking a break and going to the circus will get you farther than setting up camp in your office and listening to the same clowns 24/7.

The name ‘Internet of Things’ won’t last, anymore than did the term ‘New Media.’ As for our art director friend: the client – Adobe – loved the name he’d come up with that day at the circus and while the ‘New Media’ is pretty much gone forever, that product is known as ‘Acrobat.’ Onward and forward.

Comments are closed.