We are witnessing a process which has happened before and that will certainly continue as technology evolves or as people get more used to efficiency, fast access to usable data, and ubiquity.
In early 2000's we were talking about Convergence, and by that we meant having a platform or device that would put together TV, internet and telephony services. Nowadays, not only are such capabilities already covered by our smartphones or tablets, but today's Convergence is also looking into having the 'On Demand' label added as a nice bonus to these three venues: TV, internet and smartphone.
One example of this is Youtube's new offering with coverage of the London 2012 Olympics, currently available via streaming, totalling 3500 hours of 10 separate live channels to the United States via NBCOlympics.com, and also accessible from 64 other coutries around the world. For some people, this kind of offer means an opportunity to have a global branding moment, but the idea is to actually go beyond that.
This Olympics initiative is combined with several others by
Google like a "made for web" TV option in Youtube, or one that involves hosting a new breed of journalism in which citizens can report from anywhere in the world, similar to CNN's iReport.
Another one has to do with Youtube betting big on original programs using "web personalities" or celebrities to host these programs, mainly with the idea of mixing formats and creating a whole new user experience.
Google Plus integrating with Blogger is an interesting example of what corporations are doing in order to expand, standardize and unify services. The only issue is that people are demanding more features to be included, like specialized content, more access to data options, more integration, etc.
It is at this point where the convergence concept takes center stage. Convergence On Demand emerges with the promise of merging things like Social media, mobile TV, mobile tech and cloud computing. The list of integrating elements will surely change and even increase at a faster rate than it has so far.
With all these ingredients at play, it is no surprise that user behavior is being significantly altered whichever way, good or bad; but if we focus on the positive, with all these options on the table, now there are new business opportunities and challenges for engaging.
On a recent report, Chris Howard, who is managing vice president at Gartner, mentioned the expression "nexus of forces" in reference to the convergence concept we are dealing with. According to him, "Companies that are able to harness the power of ubiquitous information and disseminate that information across social, mobile and cloud platforms will find themselves with an edge over competitors."
Copyright Esteban Dobronsky 2012 © All Rights Reserved
