Working within a technology focused area; it is vital to keep up to speed on the latest news and developments in global technology. This can cover a very broad spectrum of information sources and inevitably each week there are tech stories that literally defy belief. The rapid developments in the sector have opened up the floodgates for stories and ideas to make worldwide headlines, despite the actual plausibility of the ideas.
The recent news of Sony's patenting the 'SmartWig' concept provides a great example of the kind of seemingly bizarre news stories that come to light on a regular basis. After the initial sniggers at the suggestion of Sony manufacturing a hairpiece with technological 'Smartphone-like' abilities, the story in itself does make an important revelation: this is something that Sony - a major tech brand - must see a potential value in. Conversely the Smart Wig article went to press just days before another 'hard to believe' tech innovation was revealed, Amazon's plans to develop drone piloted delivery system: A fleet of airborne drones baring the Amazon logo piloting the consumers' online purchases directly to their door.
Amazon's news certainly seemed to capture the imagination of the public, with the news becoming a widely discussed topic, even attracting the attention of the panellists on BBC 2's 'Have I Got News For You'. Much of the discussion of the Amazon Drone delivery service in the media aimed at understanding whether this was a genuine plan, or whether it was created simply to generate PR for the online retail giants just in time of the Christmas shopping rush. Whether or not the sceptics were correct that this was indeed a PR stunt only, the story was certainly far-reaching and received with plenty of feedback as to whether or not this is something that Amazon should proceed with.
Of course, these articles are illustrative of the extreme side of the tech headlines making the press, but I think that the point they really raise is the kind of innovations that are taking place and how developments like these are arguably now driven by consumer demand more than ever before. 2013 has seen an array of developments in technology that have come about in direct response to consumer behaviour. It could be said that the greatest influence the consumer has had on technology lately would be the move towards E-commerce and M-commerce from an array of brands; the notable shift towards online shopping from the high street. This is a development that is still happening constantly and that has shifted its dynamic in a multitude of different ways during the course of 2013 alone.
To come back to my two examples of 'weird and wonderful' tech news stories; time will tell if Sony's 'SmartWig' or Amazon's drone delivery service will become commonplace in the future. I am sure that the interest generated by headlines like these alone goes some way to gauging the public interests in these products. One thing is certain though, whatever the consumer demand does call for in the future, there will definitely be innovative and inventive solutions to supply.