Ok, I am not a huge Facebook user.  Unlike many people, I don't have every person that I have ever met since I was 4 as a friend.  As well, I am not nearly as active on it as most users.  However, even I saw at least 15 updates on my Facebook feed this morning with some sort of reference to Pokemon Go. 

It is hard to watch the news or read any kind of technology posting without seeing a reference to this new phenomenon.  For those who have no idea what it is, you are not alone....I don't particularly have a strong grasp other than the fact that I watched someone walk into a digital display because of it yesterday... 

So, what does this have to do with IoT, you may ask? 

GPS technology is one of the first IoT initiatives, even before we had the "I"

Think about it....GPS really is one of the most common IoT apps, it really is.  Basically, it is a method of grasping information from a remote entity, making some calculations and providing a go-to action plan (in the form of a dot on a map or turn-by-turn directions).  It was an IoT solution even before the Internet.  It is also the most commonly used IoT solution on the market....we use it to track packages, cars, people, pets, containers and apparently, weird creatures that aren't even there. 

It's not the first time that GPS has been used for games like this.  How many of us remember the Geocaching craze where people searched out containers all over the world? 

The positive side to this

Let's face it....as a society, we aren't the most active bunch.  Most of us aren't even close to getting the required amount of exercise to keep us healthy....and this is trend is not even going in the right direction.  So, anything that can get people's butts off of the couch is a great thing. 

How do we know it is working?  Well, one way to see this is the incredible spike in Google searches for "miles in 5K", meaning that many Americans are playing the game.  As well, if it helps to teach many Americans a bit about the metric system, there's also an added benefit. 

The Bottom Line

With climbing rates in diabetes and many other health issues, I applaud anything that gets people up and moving.  Walking is a great form of exercise and it is more than enough to keep people healthy.  If this games does that, then I think it is great....even if it does mean that people walk into signs once in a while...