I think most of us have experienced a situation where you talk about something with a friend, then you open your browser and see an advertisement for exactly the thing you were just talking about. For me, that thing was cat food, which was incredibly random as I do not own a cat, generally like cats, or have ever fed a cat. So was my phone listening to me? Probably not, instead, this is a perfect example of a concept known as the Internet of Behavior (IoB) in action.
In simple words, the Internet of Behavior can be defined as a process where user data is analyzed from a behavioral psychology perspective, often with the aim of using this information to influence behavior. Generally, the data is collected from usage data and data created by IoT or mobile devices, which provide insights into the behavior, interests, and preferences of the users. While the concept of examining the behavior and habits of consumers is not a new one, the vast amounts of data and analytical processes definitely are.
The value of IoB is often mentioned in relation to marketing and sales, as it enables companies to gain a deeper understanding of their consumers and their habits. For example, they can access information and interact with the customer at any point of the customer journey, and through this create more touchpoints to influence consumer behaviors. The insights from IoB can also create new and better approaches to the development of user experiences, products, and services to better serve their customers. A key thing to mention is that IoB is both descriptive and proactive, meaning it can be used to detect which psychological variables to influence to bring a desirable outcome for the company.
So why should you care about IoB? The concept and IoB technologies are definitely something that is here to stay and will become more prevalent in the coming years. Gartner actually named IoB one of the top strategic technology trends for 2021, and it is predicted that by 2023, 40% of the global population’s individual behaviors will be tracked digitally to influence human behavior.
Further, IoB does come with potentially serious ethical and societal implications depending on the intentions of the user. Insurance companies could for example track the behavior of their customers through their smart wearables, and based on the data increase and decrease premiums based on what behaviors they consider healthy or not. The methods used to collect, store, and analyze the data can also cause serious privacy and security problems. Particularly, behavioral data provides cybercriminals with a gold mine of user data that can be used to generate advanced scams tailored to the behaviors of the user.
To bring it back to the example with the cat food advertisements, this was likely an example of a company collecting data on my behaviors and habits that somehow led to me being targeted with that advertisement. While it definitely did not lead to a successful conversion for the company, in this case, the technology is just getting better and I’m curious to see how it develops in the next few years.
References
IoTDesignPro. (2021, April 12). What is the Internet of Behavior (IoB) and why is it the top trend of 2021? https://iotdesignpro.com/articles/what-is-internet-of-behavior-iob
Ksenija, K., & Phell, A. (2021, April 20). What is the Internet of Behavior and Why is it Important for Business? GBKSOFT. https://gbksoft.com/blog/internet-of-behaviors/
Panetta, K. (2020, October 10). Gartner Top Strategic Technology Trends for 2021. Gartner. https://www.gartner.com/smarterwithgartner/gartner-top-strategic-technology-trends-for-2021
Vector ITC. (2021, February 17). What is the Internet of Behaviour (IoB) and why is it the future? https://www.vectoritcgroup.com/en/tech-magazine-en/user-experience-en/what-is-the-internet-of-behaviour-iob-and-why-is-it-the-future/
Hi Anna,
Nice post! It’s nice to see that you provide multiple insights on the concept of Internet of Behaviour. Also, you give great examples which enables me to understand IoB better. Personally, I have also encountered similar situations which made me realize that devices are able to gather huge amounts of information about an individual (unconsciously).
While I think IoB indeed is very valuable for businesses, this concept does concern me at the same time (especially since IoB can track your interest and collect data about your behavior). As you explained, firms- such as insurance companies – gain much power by understanding their customer which could bring an individual (and perhaps other businesses) in a vulnerable position. Therefore, as you describe the benefits and disadvantages of IoB, I was wondering how you consider the development of IoB?