Debate Winner: The Internet of Things

For months, the American people have been anxiously awaiting the first debate between presidential hopefuls Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. The day finally came, and I think it’s safe to say that Americans got what they wanted.

The issues of employment, taxes, birtherism, war and even Clinton’s stamina were discussed during the debate. Amid this discussion was the expected name calling, the classic Trump Cobra (which we became accustomed to seeing on reality TV’s The Apprentice) and the soon-to-be household favorite Clinton shimmy. Everyone has their opinions on who “won” Monday night’s debate, but there is one thing that’s certain — the broadcast was record breaking.

CNN reported that Monday’s debate was the most-watched debate in American history. Well over 80 million people turned on their television to watch the major party candidates declaim and/or argue. This number does not include the large amount of people who streamed the debate online. With the growing capabilities of our various devices to stream and receive updates, the debate was viewed by millions more. This presidential race is bound to be the most followed in history, and that is in great part due to the growth of the Internet of Things (IoT).

Presidential campaign updates can now be received on anything that has an internet connection. From your car, to your tablet, to something as small as your smart watch. People will be monitoring their Twitter feeds and news updates to see the latest and most important candidate news. The coverage landscape has changed immensely thanks to IoT expansion — just consider where we were four years ago during the Obama-vs.-Romney race.

IoT’s growth in importance means new jobs for Information Technology (IT) professionals. According to a post last month on CompTIA’s blog, there are great opportunities within IoT. Hardware associated with IoT brings a need for repair and infrastructure specialists. Software professionals are needed to build custom apps for new devices. Managed services and analytics will be important to the evolution of IoT – and on top of all of this, security professionals are going to be in great need as IoT growth and development rolls forth.

There is no shortage of things IT professionals can do in IoT development. Land one of these jobs and, who knows, your ideas could help shape the landscape of our next presidential election.

About the Author — Jake Slater is the social media manager for GoCertify and a graduate of Brigham Young University. Jake is saving up to buy a self-driving car, once the Internet of Things really takes off.