Things That Don't Work - "Smart" Thermostat

Back when I worked for a large Digital Memory Device Company, the Executive Management Team (especially Marketing) was bullish on the Internet of Things (IOT).  At the time, IOT was not a widely known idea and his enthusiasm was unsettling for me.

I didn't get it then, and I don't get it now.

I mean, I did get that it was about selling consumers stuff... But I did not get how it was supposed to benefit the consumer.

If done well, companies can improve products, add value for customers, and protect their privacy, all at the same time.  But companies generally don't invest enough effort into capturing and delivering Use Cases adequately.

So what's the purpose of a Things That DON'T Work post, rather than my typical, Things That (DO) Work?

Because, I feel people generally don't understand what's actually going on.

A few days ago, I saw this notification on the "smart" thermostat in our new-to-us home that the prior owners installed.

It is February.

Which means it is winter in Colorado.

While the winter had been mild thus far, the outside temperature was below 0F.  

I can feel that the air is less humid.

There is no humidifier installed.

It is well understood that humidity drops with temperature.

So what is the point of this notification?  AND Why must I manually acknowledge it?

The purpose is this: increase revenue.

Here's how it works:

If this device was connected to our WiFi Network (it's not), I would have already received an email or would be receiving a snail mail of Targeted Marketing designed to sell a humidifier.  Most likely these marketing messages would be coming from a "partner" organization and not the manufacturer or installer of the "smart" device.

The default is that they are collecting and sharing your data.  You typically need to ask them not to, and they typically do it anyway, via a loophole in the fine print.

Manually acknowledging the notification means that I "acknowledge a need" for (in this case) more humidity.  Even though 19% in a Rocky Mountain Winter is not particularly low.

My acknowledgement means they are more likely to be successful selling the thing they want to sell me.  Car dealers and other commission-based sales people use this tactic frequently.

When they are successful at selling me the thing they want to sell me, they then achieve their purpose of increasing revenue.

Please note that none if this is because I need or want the thing they are trying to sell me and none of this is about improving the quality of my experience.

As someone who:

• has designed and implemented useful and efficient processes AND
• is an engineer trained to solve problems from the customer's point of view, AND
• had personal information handed over to an unknown entity by the above mentioned company, AND
• then had said company try to sell me a service they owned for "protecting private information," AND
• has worked on a variety of classified and confidential projects, AND
• hates(!) begin sold to,

I am sensitive to eavesdropping and this stuff completely aggravates me.

I implore you to understand what is happening with these IOT devices and to be extra careful if you choose to use these or other well-known Listening Devices.

Privacy is extremely important.  Once it's gone, it's extremely difficult to get it back.

I am looking forward to replacing this device.