Perfect stocking stuffers, perhaps for next year, courtesy Kickstarter!

I have followed a couple of start-ups that got their beginning on Kickstarter, even gave one some of my own cash!

The first one is Ninja Blocks, , which peaked my m2m interest with their open source m2m blocks that you can program to do things like turn your lights on/off, run your thermostat, let you know when the door opens, etc. I’m not a developer, just an enthusiast/evangelist, but it looks simple enough even for me, so I’m seriously thinking of getting one of their kits to tinker with… will report on my progress, because if I can do it, then anyone can do it!

Second is Bia Sport, a very innovative GPS Sports Watch designed mainly for women, by women (Cheryl Kellond is the founder and CEO)!! Girls so rock in this case!! Not only is it beautifully designed, but it’s finally a device that works in the water as well as on land, so for a Triathlete like me, it’s an ideal sports device! And again, it’s sooo cool looking! Can’t wait for mine to be ready later in 2013!

M2M Data and Product Quality

One of the key uses of the “big data” that is generated by the devices connected to the Internet of Things is something that you may not have considered so far. As a former QA guru who relied on metric and statistics to determine whether a product was ready for deployment and then follow the standard improvement processes for new feature additions, I see M2M data as a great way to measure the quality, reliability and usability of the products out in the field.

Imagine that the new refrigerator you just launched is now connected and you’re getting logs of data as to its functionality, frequency and time of use, energy used, maintenance information, etc. that you can now incorporate into your next product development cycle to add to your test plans and product development plans and to prioritize next feature upgrades.

You now have a real-time connection with your customers and can respond to problems before they are even aware that the problem exists. In this new world of IoT, you will be the one proactively contacting the customer to let him know that the new refrigerator they just bought needs a replacement part, and that it’s already being shipped, and a repair person has been notified to arrive and replace it tomorrow!