What is this thing called convergence?
Sunday, July 1, 2007 at 02:33 I recently bumped into an old schoolmate who used to focus on providing legal counsel for tech companies. This was back in the good old days of the dotcom bubble. I hadn't seen him in a while so I asked him what he was up to these days.
Still in the business of providing legal counsel but for the "convergence" sector, he says. He elaborated that he deals mainly with telcos and telco-related companies.
His use of the word "convergence" made me think about the various definitions of this vastly overused and widely misunderstood concept. Ask 10 people what it means and you are likely to get 10 different answers.
My understanding of convergence is that there are three broad definitions.
The first is convergence of services. The most obvious example is someone who plays a video game through his TV or computer and then is able to continue doing so on his mobile phone. In other words, the online service seamlessly connects across different platforms.
But having a converged service doesn't just mean you can use the service regardless of the device you use. It can also mean that one device complements another. Let's say through online you're able to have a rich media experience on your computer. When you move to the mobile platform, the media is no longer as rich, the functionalities not as wide-ranging and the nature of the interactivity changes. Your experience changes but they are still relevant to you.
That's an advanced form of convergence in services and we haven't got many examples of this in the market currently. But it holds great potential for entertainment and informational services. And, I think it's the wave of the future.
The other type of convergence concerns devices. This can mean a device that can be used for many things. For example, a phone that can also serve as a music player, a video player, a voice recorder, a camera, a personal organizer, a digital fax machine (yes, that's possible with Nokia's Communicator phones), etc.
I personally don't buy into the concept that phones will head in the direction of the Swiss Army Knife. Yes, all phones will have added functionality besides voice and SMS capabilities but there will be specialization.
Some phones will be more camera-oriented, some more music-oriented, some more web-oriented. No phone will be able to do all these things superbly well in one device. And, bear in mind there will always be a need for a standalone camera, MP3 player and laptop, no matter how sophisticated or advanced these functions become on the phone.
Similarly a laptop can now be used for many things. You can watch a movies on it. Listen to music on it. Even make phone calls on it (via VoIP) but there will always be a need for DVD players, MP3 players and phones!
Imagine a travel show for TV that also has its host uploading blogs and podcasts about his journey that viewers can check up on throughout the week. Ideally, the viewers can also interact with the host via his blog. Imagine also that there's a commemorative book published at the end of the TV season incorporating some of the dialogue the host has with his fans.
This, like the first form of convergence – where services in different formats flow seamlessly from device to device – is where we are heading and it's the shape of things to come with content. But it will take time. It will also take people with the vision to see that content (like services) in one format alone will no longer cut it as digital media opens up many new possibilities.
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