Media convergence, though tricky to define precisely, is nonetheless an appealing idea. For what it’s worth, I think of media convergence in terms of both media and devices; in a “converged” world, one would be able to easily use a single device (say, a phone) to consume different types of media (say video and email in addition to voice)–and the experience would be compelling regardless of media type. For all kinds of obvious reasons, this sort of media convergence just isn’t possible today. We have TVs that can’t connect to the internet, computers that can’t receive TV signals, land line phones for indoor use, wireless phones for outdoor use, blackberries for outdoor email use, answering machines for land line numbers, voicemail for other extensions, VCRs, DVRs, DVDs… you get the idea.
Many think some forms of media convergence will never happen; for certain applications, they say, people will always want multiple devices, with each optimized for a specific purpose (“if I’m on the road, I want a small device that’s good for email. But I’ll never use that to watch TV”).
However, it’s fairly obvious is that media is already “converging,” and we’ll see significant advances over the next decade as underlying technology (screens, battery life, processors, etc) improve and as vendors increasingly adopt open standards.
All this came to mind the other day as I walked into a Barnes and Noble and came across a hardcover book called PostSecret: Extraordinary Confessions from Ordinary Lives.
The book was entirely based on submissions to the PostSecret website. In other words, they took the blog and turned it into a book. (For those who don’t know, the site is described as an “ongoing community art project where people mail in their secrets anonymously on one side of a homemade postcard.” If you haven’t seen the site, you should check it out.) Although PostSecret used a traditional publisher (Regan Books), there are now a variety of commercial services available (Lulu, Blog Binders, etc) that enable anyone to easily convert a blog into a professional-feeling book.
Separately, I learned earlier today of Apple’s new “mini” computer, which comes bundled with software that (apparently) makes it easy to consume digital media stored on the computer using “normal” devices. For example, you can attach the mini to your TV (provided your TV has the right type of input ports, in this case DVI or VGA) and then watch videos, browse photo collections, and even surf the internet. With a wireless keyboard and mouse, you don’t even have to leave your sofa. You could also connect the mini to your stereo (again, provided your receiver has the right type of input ports) and then listen to .mp3s. The mini even comes with a remote.
Even without fancy new hardware, media convergence is happening–all you need is a web browser. “Saturday Night Live” is getting more exposure than they’ve had in years via video clips on YouTube and other video sharing services. Or, if you prefer music, Live365 has thousands of free online radio stations, all playable from your computer. Or, create your own virtual radio station with Last.fm or Pandora.
In any case, it’s still too hard for most non-geeks to take advantage of many interesting emerging forms of media convergence (does your dad/mom/friend know if their TV has a DVI connector?). But, as always, this will change with time.
