I love push notifications – I made my career as a journalist with them, from the first stories I beat TechCrunch to (which led them to hire me as the first writer there) through crazy data hacks with multiple thresholds for push notifications for ReadWriteWeb. Now today as an entrepreneur, I use mobile push notifications to jump on opportunities to engage with key people in my life: market influencers, investors, my lawyer, a wide variety of people. I mostly chose high-value streams and get all their content sent by push.

But what does that look like for the market in general and in a future made up of wearable technologies? It’s a little hard to imagine as I sit in my office in the dark, with my phone charging next to me, lighting up with push notifications every 30 to 90 seconds. Other people aren’t going to deal with the level of signal to noise ratio I’m willing to, and most of the time our phones are in our pockets.

I loved this explanation from Bryan Mills on Annuity Outlook Magazine, in an article titled The Future of Client Engagement – Wearable Technology.

I think this goes beyond financial professionals, that’s just their audience. I think this kind of real time text update from VIP sources could be applicable to lots of people. One big question I have: is this level of real-time UX something users are excited about? If so, I want to build more of that. But I’m not sure that more than a handful of us are into it, like this at least.

“How can insurance agents and financial professionals embrace the future of wearable technology for the benefit of their practice? By helping you to become a communications and marketing innovator, wearable technology will facilitate a competitive advantage. You are more than just a skilled financial analyst, portfolio manager and relationship planner — you’re also your clients’ life coach, soothsayer and financial guide.

“You’ve probably realized that the best relationships typically start with a common desire to achieve personal and professional goals as a team. So, if you really want to give your clients a transformational experience rather than a transactional encounter, you’ll have to adopt wearable technology sooner than later…

“Larger financial institutions are already building the framework so you can connect with your clients on a more personal level via the communication bridge. Most people already use their smartphone in lieu of a traditional watch, especially when it comes to time management. So imagine your firm communicating valuable snippets of data regarding completed transactions and special requests directly to your clients via text to their smartwatch, in addition to the standard email updates through their smartphone.

“You and your clients will have a more immediate, constant and direct line of communication without having to make unnecessary phone calls regarding simple operational tasks that can, in fact, be automated. These types of interactions are more personal and engaging, which will create “top-of-mind awareness” and help you develop and maintain your relationships for the long term.”