Social Machines: How to Develop Connected Products That Change Customers' Lives

Companies like Facebook and Twitter have redefined social interaction. But what if “machines” like automobiles, bicycles, health monitors, appliances, instruments, and anything else you can connect to the Internet, could all become members of your social network, collect data you care about, and feed it back to you at just the right time? Nike+ is already doing this for your body, but every major industry, from healthcare to cars to home construction, is now building sensors and digital connectivity into their next generation of products. Companies like Ford, Pepsi, Verizon, and Procter and Gamble are also using “social machines” to reach new markets, improve brand/market awareness, and increase revenues. Social Machines is the first book for business people, marketers, product developers, and technologists, explaining how this trend will change our world, how your business will benefit, and how to create connected products that customers love.

• Explains how smart phones and tablets enable Social Machines
• Describes how digital technology is being “baked in” to the most unlikely new products―even wheelchairs.
• Articulates how the “Internet of Things” is becoming social―and why that’s the foundation for powerful new business models

In the very near future, every great new product will be social. The next stage of interaction between people and our environment is upon us.

PETER SEMMELHACK is the founder and CEO of Bug Labs, developer of an award-winning open source consumer electronics and web services platform, recently featured in MoMA's "Talk to Me" exhibit. As a founding member of the rapidly growing open hardware movement, Peter is a frequent speaker at events around the world. He is also founder, board member, and former CEO of Antenna Software, one of the country's largest mobile enterprise software companies. His work has been covered and discussed by the international media including the New York Times, the Economist, the Hindu, Fortune, CNN, Nikkei Business, and Forbes. Peter holds a BA in economics from Brown University.