Microsoft Digital Trend Report: 57% want to control personal information save time

Microsoft releases 2015 Digital Trend report

The "Future Laboratory" (Future Laboratory) and market research consultancy, a Microsoft company and industry trend forecasting agency, surveyed 13,000 consumers in 13 countries worldwide and released the 2015 Trend report on March 9. The report aims to examine people's digital behaviour and the future of technology in order to better understand how brands can meet the expectations of today's and future consumers. The report is summarized as follows:

Research shows that consumers ' attitudes towards digital services and networking devices have changed significantly compared to 2 years ago. Consumers are more accustomed to sharing personal life information through networked devices and networks. At the same time, they have become more savvy and demanding, more interested in controlling their "digital Avatar" and more about how personal information is used to help them improve their lives.

Natasha Halley Zuk, head of Microsoft's global consumer Insight department, said: "2 years ago, we saw consumers paying close attention to their privacy, and more of the desire to appear anonymously." But now they are abandoning the privacy dialogue and more focused on how to control the digital divide. Globally, 78% of consumers are aware of their online status and the data they generate, providing power to the digital world. Instead of worrying about their web footprint, they are more concerned about what these footprints represent and how they can be translated more effectively into useful experiences. ”

The choice to share and control their information with consumers is critical. In fact, 57% of people want to control the time their information is kept online, and Microsoft calls this trend "my identity".

Microsoft releases 2015 Digital Trend report

Imagine that you are playing games online with friends, and you want to show all the fans the high points, badges and trophies you get. You even want to show your accomplishments on your resume so that opponents know who they are facing from the start. Of course, you may also want to create new contacts and experiences with other people in your life.

In either case, those who "hand over" the data clearly expect certain rewards. An application that tracks your location will be considered a violation of privacy if no further explanation is given. But this app seems pretty good if it's tracking your location by offering pizza enthusiasts a discount. Consumers cannot share their personal information without a clear "return on investment".

Consumers also continue to face "information overload" and are looking for new ways to help ease the "white noise" of life. 80% are interested in services that can help manage their online data, 75% say they are interested in wearable devices, 60% are interested in "Internet of things" and online homes, and most consumers want to understand the meaning of the information they receive. The increasing number of data collected through these instruments has prompted the rise of "life analysis". Consumers offer personal information in exchange for some analysis, or to increase insights that they cannot easily gain.

Microsoft band can tell us how far we've run, how much our heart rate jumps, and so on. This data becomes even more important when it starts to integrate with other things outside the field. In the future, Microsoft band can use Office, calendar and other information to build analysis, predict your heart rate spikes, and so on.

Microsoft releases 2015 Digital Trend report

In the "Forever Online" digital world, consumers also want their technology to become intelligent, which is very important to them. "Marketers want to keep consumers online forever," says Halle Zuk. But from a consumer standpoint, we see a lot of resistance. ”

Consumers want to stay online at the critical moment, and they are more concerned about the content because it is closely related to them. Instead of always networking, they can connect to the right content or service at the time of their choice. "I don't think we should serve technology, but technology should serve us and allow us to do things that make our lives better than ever before," said an interviewed consumer. ”

Finally, consumers have become increasingly interested in helping to shape and design digital products and services, and "life hacking" technology can meet their needs. 63% of people are more interested in future technologies that can automatically filter content and news.

Microsoft releases 2015 Digital Trend report

Not all of us need to know how to encode or want to learn how to encode, and many of us want to be able to take advantage of more personalized digital services. 56% prefer to experience the services they personally helped form, which Microsoft calls "Creative Me".

Many people use the sandbox game my world as a way to express their creativity, using virtual building blocks in games to build their own buildings without any restrictions. Haley Zuk said: "You don't have to be a geek to express yourself," My world has already proved that. Even if consumers don't code, they can still experience digital life more closely. ”