Simon on: Stand Out - Time to think about the security of wearable devices

Wearable devices have been hailed as the latest must-have tech with more and more smartwatches cropping up in the events industry.

While some are discussing their value, a study by Hewlett-Packard has uncovered some shocking issues as most of the current popular devices were found to have ‘poor’ security features.

To read my warning to the industry, click here.

Simon on: Tech for tech's sake

Despite various claims from the experts that wearables will be a game-changer in the meetings industry, it would seem the tech continues to struggle to make an impact.

We’ve seen Google Glass be taken back to the drawing board after mankind refused to become a nation of glassholes, and now, even the mighty Apple has fallen foul in the smartwatch stakes. Its new wrist wearable fails to work on tattooed skin – sorry inked delegates, looks like you’ll have to get your notifications the old fashioned way on your phone.

Smartbands like the Myo which controls a presenter’s slides with a series of arm swipes and gestures is only going to unnerve a speaker, as well as leave room for more technical issues to arise.

So why are experts hell-bent on hailing wearables as the next big thing? Well, to me it is simply a case of tech for tech’s sake.

There still hasn’t been any real proof that wearable tech benefits the industry. Why? Because deep down in the realms of common sense we know that all the industry actually needs is great content and great speakers.

Originally published in Conference News