For many years, people resisted using hearing aids because of the optics. Wearing hearing aids were—and still are—a very visual reminder for most that they are aging. My own mother, who is 92 years young, refused to wear a hearing aid because she did not want to be labelled as old. But in recent years, both technology and trends have moved on enormously. Today we see people everywhere wearing wireless earbuds and Apple AirPods. In fact, seeing people without them is now unusual.
So, what if the next generation of ear buds could be used as hearing aids? Would my mother and her cohort rethink the optics of wearing them? Would they suddenly become “cool”? With innovations like Apple’s “Live Listen” feature, which turns your Apple device into a microphone to help you hear better in a noisy area or across a room, we are close to that happening.
What does this have to do with information management, you ask? These are innovations that delight and allow users to look at technology in a new way.
The pandemic has forced companies of all sizes to change their methods and their mindset about how best to operate as a business. And in the world of information management, technology advances are occurring that enable us to reimagine how and where people can work, how goods are shipped, how data is secured and how commerce is conducted around the world. These incredible innovations are what I refer to as “technology that delights.”
