eWEEKChat Feb. 12: ‘Sizing Up Wearable Computing’

On Wednesday, Feb. 12, at 11 a.m. PST/2 p.m. EST/7 p.m. GMT, @eWEEKnews will host its 15th eWEEKChat event. The topic will be “Sizing Up Wearable Computing.” It will be moderated by Chris Preimesberger, who serves as eWEEK’s editor of features and analysis.
Some quick facts:
Topic: “Sizing Up Wearable Computing.”
Date/time: Feb. 12, 2014 @11a.m. PST/2 p.m. EST/7 p.m. GMT
Hosted by: @eWeekNews
Moderator: Chris Preimesberger: @editingwhiz
Tweetchat handle: Use #eWeekChat to follow/participate in the chat
Chatroom real-time links: We have two: http://tweetchat.com/room/eweekchat or http://www.tchat.io/rooms/eweekchat.
eWEEKchat Event news page: https://www.eweek.com/innovation/eweekchat-events/
The research on the relatively new wearable computing trend all points the same direction: up and to the right.
For one example, Juniper Research expects wearable computing device shipments–which are already ramping up faster than previous estimates had concluded–to grow tenfold in the next four years, reaching 150 million per year by the end of 2018. It’s expected to continue going up from there.
We’re talking about wrist- and arm-located health/fitness monitors, smart watches, Google Glass units, heart and blood-monitoring sensors, ear-borne smartphones, minicams on riding helmets, and literally dozens of other new products that will be coming to Websites and stores near you in coming months.
This goes hand-in-glove with the other successful IT product trends of the last 10 years: cloud computing and new-gen mobile IT devices–specifically smartphones and tablets. All these then fit right into the bring-your-own-device (BYOD) and bring-your-own-cloud (BYOC) trends, which ultimately intersect with the rapidly approaching Internet of things (IoT) phenomenon.
Everything is in the process of being connected. We as people are getting connected on many levels, and our devices are getting connected, too. Management of all these things is what the market requires and is the No. 1 thing that baffles users. We’ll talk about how to do this, and do it securely.
In our eWEEKchat Feb. 12, we will pose questions such as:
–What devices are you using now, and why?
–What devices do you plan on using in the future, and why?
–What wearable IT do you wish to see on the market but aren’t there yet?
–What new challenges does all the new data gathered by such devices–and stored in a cloud–pose for data privacy and security?
Some Background, Should You Need It
For a bit of background, here’s how a Tweetchat works:
Who: All those who use the Internet.
What: A Tweetchat is an online conversation held at a prearranged time following a specific hashtag. In eWEEK’s case, we will be using #eWeekChat for all of our Tweetchats. Chatroom real-time links: http://tweetchat.com/room/eweekchat or http://www.tchat.io/rooms/eweekchat.
When: Wednesday, Feb. 12 at 11 a.m. Pacific Standard Time/2 p.m. EST/7 p.m. GMT.
Where: The chat also can be followed on Twitter using the hashtag #eWeekChat. A link to the recap (so you can see a record of what everybody tweeted) will be posted on this blog the following Friday, Feb. 14.
Why: The whole idea is to facilitate additional industry dialogue and provide a forum for questions, idea sharing and problem solving. We also want your input on what you’d like to discuss during future chats, so please leave a comment on this post or tweet @eweeknews with topic ideas.
Participants will be able to ask questions of eWEEK staff members and special guests or simply add their thoughts to the conversation. The only restrictions are that we stay on topic and that you say what you need to say succinctly (140 characters).
For Those Who Haven’t Done a Tweetchat …
You may not have participated in a Tweetchat previously. They generally move pretty fast, but you can learn a lot. We’ll also post a record of all the comments so that you can refer to it afterward. Here’s the Storify page containing all of our previous eWEEKChat compilations.
Please note that to maintain a semblance of order, please prefix your question or comment with the number of the question we are currently discussing. As an example, the moderator may post: “Q1: What’s the first wearable computing device you ever had?”
To which you might answer: “A1: Well, I used to carry a calculator in my shirt pocket–does that count?” Or you might not answer that way.
A Tweetchat is a venue that is easy to use on any type of device, too. By the way, did you know that eWEEK is the only mainstream IT trade publication that has specific apps for Android and iOS devices?
Hope to connect with you Feb. 12, and use your collaboration network to tell your friends. Let’s have fun with this.