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At Dreamforce last year you would have heard Marc Benioff talk about the Internet of Customers  - the third wave of computing, how the internet has advanced beyond just software, computers and networks to a world where everything is connected, even people and things. 

As Marc outlined, 50 billion connected products all provide a network for companies to engage their customers in new and more intelligent ways.  And behind every app, every device, every “thing” is a customer. As Marc said, “everything is on the net” - even his toothbrush, which is WiFi and GPS enabled so his dentist can keep track of his teeth-cleaning regime!

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It is a great vision but it is so important that great visions like this become quickly real or they run the risk of remaining just ideas.  Well at the end of the month after the Salesforce1 World Tour hits Melbourne to paint this vision for Australians, an important #cloudcrowd event in Sydney will look at how two very exciting manifestations of this vision are taking shape here in Australia.

If you follow this blog, you would have already seen Peter (@peterjchalmers) Chalmers write about the #cloudcrowd, which he described as a “group about all things cloud which allowed people to come together with other advocates, specialists and social media leaders to discuss the latest topics of the day.” (Link: http://blogs.salesforce.com/au/2014/01/what-is-this-thing-called-cloudcrowd.html)

Well the burning topic of today is The Internet of Things (#IoT).  Hosted by salesforce.com’s resident hipster Derek (@derektweets) Laney, the March 28th event will look at a couple of innovative local applications of the Internet of Things idea and how it plugs into this wider theme.  That wider theme will be further illustrated by the evening’s special guest star - Salesforce.com’s Director of Product Evangelism  Reid (@ReidCarlberg) Carlberg who will be visiting from the US.  Those two local innovations are:

  • Matt (@LaceySnr) Lacey from SP Keasey will talk about Proximity Insight - an app that will connect VIP customers with high street stores via their smartphones and the Salesforce1 CRM.  Essentially, stores will sense when these VIP customers are approaching and will be able - by quizzing their Salesforce1 CRM customer history - to select appropriate unique special offers to present to them on their phones and alert store staff to prepare a special VIP welcome. Proximity Insight is a perfect example of how the internet has become more physical and has transcended the virtual and become very tangible, allowing companies to connect very powerfully with their most important customers. (link: http://www.proximityinsight.com/)

  • Moore’s Cloud founder Mark (@mpesce) Pesce - who many of you will know from ABC TV’s New Inventors show - will talk about Holiday, an original intelligent LED lighting system that connects with a mobile app (Android and iOS) over the internet with the capability to display countless patterns, drive animations, and run applications - like fill the room with the colour of your favourite football team while you’re watching the game! (Link: http://holiday.moorescloud.com/index.html#top)

So if you are a member of #cloudcrowd, please come along (go to the LinkedIn Group for details) to share your thoughts on what these ideas mean to you and to learn more about the Internet of Things.  There will be drinks, nibbles and great music too to make it worth your while.  

If you aren’t a member or can’t make it to the event, we will be sharing the highlights here on the blog so you can stay, you know...connected.