Christmas was six months ago. That was probably the last real opportunity to justify a shiny new gadget. But I stand by the observations I made then that the smallest gadget or advancement in consumer electronics has the potential to affect the B2B realm. Call it the “tech toy butterfly effect.”

With the Google Developer’s Conference (i.e. “Google I/O”) occurring a couple weeks ago and Computex now upon us, there is no shortage of new devices and concepts showing up in the market. Beyond the basic “wow” and “neat” (well-placed geek-speak) reactions, significant progress is being made on technologies that seemed like novelties just months ago.

For instance, Microsoft is incorporating search into its next version of mobile operating systems in a big way. Perhaps most exciting is the concept of visual search where suggested results are provided based on what the phone’s camera picks up with its viewfinder. The tech-obsessed marketer in me sees this as a continuation of an amazing advancement. But regardless of such individual developments, many new technologies are opening up ways for users to find and interact with your message. Naturally, this puts the onus on marketers to become knowledgeable and competent in such advancements. An understanding of the technology, paired with proper user analytics , keeps your message accessible and relevant. It wasn’t that long ago that “iPad” showing up in an analytics report was unheard of.

Another Windows-based example immediately applicable to your B2B website is the impending release of Windows 8. It’s no secret that mobile—and, to a larger extent, the tablet form factor—represents a significant opportunity for marketers and business operations alike. However, if you are tracking and optimizing your digital initiatives as you should be, the operating system will continue to blur the lines in terms of User Experience and Analytics. By expanding the platform compatibility of the operating system, you may be unable to determine if your Windows 8 OS visitors are arriving via a hand-held tablet, are accessing via a laptop at a Starbucks, or are in a cubicle on their corporate desktop computer. Why does this matter? Because the user’s experience with your property could vary significantly in each setting—behooving you, as the marketer, to address (and hopefully optimize) each scenario, as needed.

Take the time to stay up-to-date on consumer tech. Even as a B2B agency, we work with what might be considered consumer devices every day. Whether it’s website testing, mobile OS analytics, testing QR codes across multiple mobile OS’s, or brainstorming that next “big idea,” by knowing what is happening with technological advancements, it allows us to better analyze and optimize our initiatives.