We recently caught up with Tim Hutchinson, Head of Digital Experience and Product at Slater and Gordon. In this article he talks about how the pandemic has changed digital and his outlook for the future.
Tim Hutchinson, Head of Digital Experience and ProductSlater and GordonBetter than life
I’ve been thinking quite a lot recently about how I’ve changed over the past year. I didn’t think my mindset was any different, nor any of my needs greater than they were before this virus and its mutant virus friends started to disrupt our lives. I was wrong.
12 months ago I was nicely aligned with Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, food and water was plentiful, I was surrounded by wonderful family and friends, I was active and my health was as good as it could be (well, so my Apple Watch told me)! My job was challenging yet rewarding and on the whole I felt self-fulfilled and ‘achieving one’s full potential’.
But slowly, over this past year, I have become sceptical about every interaction I have, whether it’s in real-life or through a digital channel. “Am I being scammed? Is that fake news? Am I going to get ill? Will I ever see life outside of this computer screen?”… I was questioning my own position on the hierarchy of needs pyramid. What had I become?
Ok, life wasn’t that bad, in fact I feel guilty for enjoying this new way of life. But it has made me think about some of the things I’ve simply taken for granted.
Scam central
We’ve certainly learnt a lot about ourselves and others this past year, particularly how to collaborate and communicate with one another using a whole host of digital platforms and tools. Unfortunately, our shift from analogue to digital has exposed us to more and more elaborate scams. Not only are we seeing new product and service related swindling, we are being exposed to more sophisticated phishing and exhortation attempts within the workplace, the one place we thought we would be protected. In 2021 we need to be aggressively vigilant as individuals and companies, to expose and protect ourselves against this abhorrent behaviour. Think twice about sharing information, approving that invoice that just came in from a so called supplier, or resetting your credentials – just double-check where those requests are coming from.
Trust is a thing of the past
Trust has dwindled fast in the past year. Not only are we trying to separate the wheat from the chaff with regards to fake news, we must also question the quality of brand and product endorsement through channels such as Trustpilot, Google Reviews and Instagram. There’s an account on Instagram which is trying to expose some of these scams, from saving turtles for a quid, to lookalike celebrities selling products. In 2021 are we going to see better validation of customer reviews and an improvement in AI to identify fake reviews and propaganda. If Twitter can continually remind people that Trump did not win the election, perhaps other platforms can do better at calling-out false claims!
Health and good will to all
Digital health, wearable technology, telemedicine and AI in healthcare will grow exponentially in 2021. This year has made many of us re-evaluate the status as well as resilience of our mental wellbeing and physical health. We have turned to devices to measure and reassure us, and communicated with healthcare experts using more efficient and convenient platforms. These are services we didn’t fully appreciate until we had to use them and 2021 will see these services becoming more prevalent in our day to day lives – whether we like it or not.
Better than life
Virtual Reality will come back. A concept that many people lost themselves in as much as the potential immersive experience itself. However, the technology and experience didn’t quite materialise. Now that we’ve been stuck indoors for so long we need a break from reality, perhaps 2021 will see greater investment into this technology and we’ll finally get our ‘Better than life’.
No chance. Give me a real pint and a hug any day.
Thanks Tim for giving something to think about! If you would like to feature on our blog, get in touch here!
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