Introduction to Internet of Behaviour (IoB)

What If suddenly one day, someone comes to you and says, “the phone you are holding in your hand, has no longer got the things that will get you going with the old applications?” 

 

You will feel shocked and will ask the reason behind it and when you will get to know that suddenly in the past few months technology has changed so much that you can’t exist in a technical world without a timely upgrade, you will buy a new phone.

 

That’s just an example of how technology has been changing and how fast new trends are emerging. You can learn about top emerging technologies from here. Talking about emerging technological trends, one such trend or we should say, one such new kind of technology is, the Internet of Behaviour.

 

Sounding similar to one of the parts of technology that we use in our daily lives, the Internet of Behaviour is our complete area of focus, for example, technology is vastly used in businesses, technology in yoga, and many more.

 

Internet of Behaviour (IoB)

 

IoB can’t be talked about without the mention of IoT.  The Internet of Things (IoT) is an interconnected network of physical devices that gather and share data and information via the Internet. 

 

The IoT is continually increasing and changing in terms of its complexity, i.e. the way devices are interconnected, the calculations that these things can perform on their own, and the data that is stored in the cloud are all evolving. 

 

The Internet of Behaviour refers to the gathering of data (BI, Big Data, CDPs, etc.) that offers important information on client behaviours, interests, and preferences (IoB).

 

(Must read: Top 10 examples of IoT)

 

From a behavioural psychology standpoint, the IoB tries to comprehend the data acquired from users' online activities. It aims to answer the question of how to interpret data and how to use that knowledge to develop and promote new goods, all from the perspective of human psychology.

 

The term "IoB" refers to a method of analyzing user-controlled data from a behavioural psychology standpoint. The findings of that study influence new ways to create a user experience (UX), search experience optimization (SXO), and how to advertise a company's final products and services. 

 

As a result, while doing IoB is technically easy, it is psychologically challenging. For ethical and legal reasons, it is necessary to perform statistical studies that record everyday routines and behaviours without totally revealing customer privacy.

 

(Must catch: Internet of Robotic Things)

 

Benefits of IoB

 

The following are some of the Benefits of IoB:

 

• Analyze the purchase behaviour of customers across various platforms.

• Examine data about how people engage with gadgets and goods that were previously unavailable.

• Obtain more specific information about a customer's stage in the purchasing process.

• Real-time POS notifications and targeting are available.

• Close sales and keep consumers satisfied by swiftly resolving concerns.

 

(Also read: Basics of Product Positioning)

 

 

Combined Impact of IoB and IoT

 

Internet of behaviour is an extension of IoT. Let us try to know more about it. It's not about the "things" at all when companies use the Internet of Things to persuade us to change our habits. We've crossed over into the Internet of Behavior as the IoT connects individuals with their activities. 

 

Consider the IoB as a mash-up of three disciplines:

 

• Technology

• Analytical data

• Psychology is the study of human behaviour.

 

Emotions, choices, augmentations, and companionship are the four areas of behavioural science that we examine when we utilize technology.

 

Companies that know us through the data provided by IoT, can now influence our behaviour using the data provided by IoB. Consider using a smartphone health app to check your nutrition, sleep habits, heart rate, or blood sugar levels. The app can warn you about potentially dangerous circumstances and propose behaviour changes that would lead to a more positive or desirable outcome.

 

(Most related: IoT in healthcare)

 

For the time being, corporations are mostly using IoT and IoB to watch and attempt to influence our behaviour to reach Allstate behavior their intended goal—typically, to purchase.

 

 

Working of IoB

 

1. How Data Is Collected?

 

Consumer data may be gathered from a range of sites and technologies, including a company's website, social media profiles, sensors, telematics, beacons, health monitors (such as Fitbit), and a variety of other devices.

 

Each of these sites gathers various types of information. For example, a website may keep track of how many times a person visits a certain page or how long they remain on it. Furthermore, telematics may track how hard a vehicle's driver brakes or the vehicle's typical speed.

 

(Suggested blog: How is IoT influencing the Human Body?)

 

 

2. What Happens to the Information Gathered?

 

Data is collected and analyzed by businesses for a variety of purposes. These reasons include assisting businesses in making educated business decisions, customizing marketing techniques, developing products and services, and driving user experience design, among others.

 

Companies establish standards to aid in the analysis of this data. When a user performs a specific action(s), the firm then begins to convince the user to modify their behaviour. For instance, if a user visits a company's page selling men's slim jeans three times, the digital shop may show them a pop-up ad offering them 25% off a pair of jeans.

 

 

3. Using Data from a Variety of Sources

 

Combining data from many sources and evaluating it to make a decision is another component of the Internet of Behaviors. Companies may develop in-depth user profiles for each user by combining data from a variety of sources. These profiles may then be looked at to see what the best course of action is for the person.

 

For example, on the brand's Instagram page, a customer called Ted comments on a photo of a new sneaker. Ted visits the brand's website a few days later and looks at the identical sneaker. After a week, Ted is watching an ad for the sneaker on YouTube. In the meanwhile, the brand is keeping track of all of Ted's digital content touchpoints. 

 

Because Ted has expressed an interest in the brand's shoe, the brand may synthesize this information and devise a strategy for converting Ted into a customer. Remarketing display advertising or emailing Ted a discount coupon are examples of actions the brand might do.

 

(Also read: Network Marketing)

 

 

Use of IoB in Various Sectors

 

1. IoB in Business

 

Online advertising is increasingly being used by a variety of businesses to reach out to their clients. They may discover and target certain persons or groups that could benefit from their products or services with the help of IoB.

 

Both Google and Facebook utilize behavioural data to provide ads to users on their sites. This enables companies to interact with their target consumers and measure their behaviour in response to advertisements via "click rates."

 

Similarly, Youtube uses behavioural analytics to enhance the viewer's experience by only recommending or highlighting videos and subjects that they are interested in.

 

 

2. IoB During the Covid-19 Pandemic

 

The epidemic has increased our awareness of the precautions we must take during this period. Employers might use sensors or RFID tags to see if there are any inconsistencies in following safety standards. Restaurants and food delivery applications, for example, utilize the protocol information to guide their decisions.

 

Swiggy and Zomato, for example, both exhibited and promoted restaurant safety procedures. They also recorded and broadcast the temperature of the delivery person to reassure consumers that they were safe.

 

 

3. IoB for the Insurance Industry

 

In the insurance industry, IoB may be quite beneficial. Driver tracking tools are already used by insurance companies like Allstate and StateFarm to track and secure a driver's conduct. With the help of IoB, they may evaluate the behaviour and perhaps determine if a certain occurrence was an accident or a misjudged assumption on the part of the insured.

 

This can help prevent incidents of drunk driving, driving under the influence of drugs, and even underage or retired persons from getting behind the wheel and causing an accident.

 

(Related reading: Types of insurance)

 

 

End-Note

 

The Internet of Behaviors offers businesses cutting-edge methods for marketing products and services as well as influencing user and employee behaviour. This technology is highly useful to organizations since it allows them to optimize their customer relationships depending on the data acquired. 

 

Behavioral data technology is still developing. However, as new IoT devices proliferate, the argument over what constitutes critical data and ethical use is only beginning.