How context affects the future of mobile Internet development

It is all about the context. In the future, all our designs will be related to the context.

So what exactly is context? This is a word that is difficult to translate literally. One is "context" and the other is "context". It is difficult to correspond in the design and Internet fields, so let's call it "content context" for the time being. Today, we will use examples to interpret the impact of context on our future lives and designs in the Internet field.

Web designers and mobile app designers are very popular now. It seems that they can grasp the needs of consumers the fastest and make users pay for them through a small screen (which is actually designed to be larger and larger). However, there are only a few apps that are truly long-lasting and popular. A large number of applications can quickly gather hundreds of thousands of users in a week, but they can also be replaced by other programs in a shorter time. Why? Marketing and advertising planners, at least in this regard, understand better than designers and developers - to know when, where and how to display advertising information. For example, no matter how beautiful the copywriting and touching the story of an oil company is, it is a stupid attempt to launch a new advertisement during the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, because in the context of the time, it will only give consumers bad associations.

Although as users, we are almost like plastic people glued to our desks every day, and must rely on mobile phones, PCs and other screens to obtain information and services, mobile operators and developers seem to have just recently discovered that they need to design for different screens to adapt, whether it is to continuously increase the physical size of the screen or through responsive and adaptive web design (adaptive and inclusive network design), which is the only way to become a successful platform-level Internet company and an APP with a large user base. The following figure shows the content adaptability design of food sense for different web page sizes and screen sizes, ensuring that consistent and easy-to-use content can be provided to users in any situation.

Looking further, what is contextual design for apps and web pages? Let's look back at design based on location, time, and the current situation. In fact, "contextual design" means providing the right interface and data when the user needs it, without forcing the user to accept it. Therefore, the best contextual design is "invisible" to the user, because the right interface appears when and where the user needs it.

Let’s look at a few cases from several aspects:

#sound#

Because we pay too much attention to what is happening on the screen, we often overlook the value of sound as a huge contextual medium. Nokia's classic ringtones have remained unchanged for many years, and they have long carried the value and loyalty of the brand. As Nokia has been subject to controversy about innovation in recent years, after jointly developing the new Lumia series of mobile phones with Microsoft, it also re-recorded the series of classic ringtones and incorporated more fresh elements. Its intention is nothing more than to tell consumers that we are still the strong player in the mobile phone industry. We are seeking change, but we will not change our genes.

“Living Room & Living Room”

Living rooms and living rooms are the next frontiers that Google, Microsoft, Apple and Intel are all competing for, and there are also a lot of enterprise-level innovations during this period. Intel focuses on "people". Imagine that a child who comes back from playing grabs the remote control on the dining table. The TV pushes the latest cartoons and toy purchase information on the screen based on the child's identity and interests, and when the father takes the remote control, it pushes the latest sports game information. At the same time, APP and network content can be linked to TV, movie and other information through audio watermarking loading and other methods.

#Geographic Information#

Geographic information is no longer limited to checking in to satisfy the pride of being a landlord and simply providing possible discounts to users who check in more often, because there is only one landlord after all, and the number of users who can enjoy the discounts based on the number of check-ins is very small. Over time, such services will alienate potential users. Let's see how Starbucks uses geographic information to innovate.

Every morning, you receive a wake-up reminder from the Starbucks alarm clock, and a cup of low-priced coffee or half-priced breakfast is pushed to you. As long as you show this message at any Starbucks within a limited time, you can drink this cup of fragrant coffee. In this way, the user's work situation is linked to Starbucks.

At the same time, according to The New York Times, New York Starbucks consumers have gradually been able to directly transfer the change to their credit cards by providing their own names, eliminating the middleman. This once again links the brand with user care for details and efficiency.

#social contact#

There is no need to elaborate on the significance of social networking to the mobile Internet. Here, I would like to mention the "hardware interaction" technology that is often used now, that is, how the interaction design can actually physically connect with the user's actual behavior, rather than being limited to virtual interactions on the screen. For example, on websites such as Facebook and Fancy, we usually express our love for the clothes we like by clicking the Like button. A startup company has produced a coat rack that includes sensors and network upload devices, which can collect information about consumers' liking for clothes hanging in the store, interact with the company's website content on Facebook, and build a bridge between real fitting and online shopping.

#calendar#

If users accept the authorization to open their calendar information to certain specific places and programs, the following scenario may occur: My friend has a birthday tomorrow, and when I walk into a large supermarket, my mobile phone and the corresponding group purchase app will push discount and recommended product information to me based on the "birthday" information. Of course, the premise is that the amount of information pushed to me is appropriate and meets or even exceeds my expectations.

Correspondingly, IOS 6 also has a "do not disturb" function, which allows you to set the time period when you do not want to receive push messages. This is also an effective supplement to the personal information push service from another aspect.

#New Technology#

IPV6 will greatly increase the information carrying capacity of our mobile devices. Simply put, a large number of physical objects can be given status and historical information. For example, the Heineken beer in the refrigerator. When the service provider detects that you plan to go shopping in the supermarket and there is only half a bottle of beer in the refrigerator, it can automatically restock for you or remind you to buy discounted beer. In the past, plots like this always appeared in science fiction or concept films, but in fact, mass-produced products are no longer far away from us.

#Passbook#

Finally, let's recall Apple's Passbook service. Its power lies in: first, it allows third-party programs to create various tickets and store them in the same document on the user's phone, which is convenient for management and easy for users to find and consume; second, it "automatically" associates the content of third-party program providers with the user's context. For example, when you walk into the cinema near the start of the movie, based on the matching of geographic location and time, consumers automatically check in, and push information to consumers for confirmation. You no longer need to enter any other program to complete complex process operations, everything is so simple. Once consumers get used to such simple and direct services, they will form a strong high-quality user experience and form strong user stickiness.