Device Proliferation, Convergence & Their Effects
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“The future of media for me would be the type of content that I want anytime, anywhere, on any device,” says Ashish Soni, who directs the Information Technology Program at the University of Southern California. One trend that has become very clear in the last few years: Consumers want complete control of the content they consume and access to it on all their devices, platforms and services. As a result, media content no longer falls neatly along the lines that used to separate print, radio, TV or film.
Different platforms inevitably have strengths for different types of content. People often want to check email on a more private device than their TV, for example. Vivian Schiller, CEO of NPR, explains that radio has some built-in advantages over a newspaper or website, which makes radio a complementary rather than competing form of media. “You can listen to NPR getting dressed in the morning,” she says. “But when you sit down to read a newspaper, you could be going online.”
The challenge today comes from the tremendous number of devices that people use. Convergence is not only about creating different content for different platforms, but also about enabling people to easily consume and share any type of content using any platform.
Jessica Clark believes that the switch-off of the analog signal in summer 2009 may have more significant ripple effects than independent media-makers realize. Clark directs the Future of Public Media Project at American University’s Center for Social Media and is former executive editor of In These Times. “People who don’t subscribe to cable or satellite will need to do so, buy a set-top box, or buy a new set. It’s a moment of decision that might move some definitively to consuming programs and films only on their computers—kind of like the younger set of consumers who no longer have land lines.” Clark noted that the switch-off will also generate many new broadcast channels, offering an opportunity for progressive and independent media-makers to generate fresh broadcast content that could also be streamed online.
Nearly all media technology companies, large incumbents and startups alike, have made plays in platform convergence, which will change the competitive landscape in significant ways. “In fact, the word ‘television’ will eventually mean something new—it will need to move beyond the platform itself,” wrote Terri Walter, Vice President of Emerging Media at Razorfish. Convergence technology is quickly improving, and media organizations that make it easiest for consumers to mix platforms will succeed. The whole ecosystem of content creation, ad buying, philanthropic funding and audience building will have to adapt as well, which is where a consortium can play a role.
Mobile Revolution
“The big game changer over the next short term is mobility,” says Don Tapscott, author of Wikinomics. “Media is coming into our pocket and is with us at all times on a device that knows where we are.” The mobile revolution will likely have the greatest impact on media convergence, as laptops become more mobile (e.g. netbooks & cloud computing) and mobile phones become more powerful computing devices. In the United States, 15% of the population has smart phones (e.g. iPhone or Blackberry), according to a Pew Research Center study, and 37% of those who own these devices say they get news on them.
Already, three quarters of the world’s messages are sent via mobile and nine out of 10 in developing countries where mobile phones have “leapfrogged” other technologies. Mobile phones had an estimated 50% penetration rate in developing areas by the end of 2008—up from nearly zero ten years earlier. Worldwide, the number of mobile phone subscriptions are triple the number fixed telephone lines. In fact, Jeffery Sachs, a renowned economist who has focused on the developing world, said mobile devices are part of the reason we might be turning the corner on the digital divide.
Katrin Verclas, co-founder of MobileActive, asks, “What do people actually want on the content side—in particular, mobile content? What is needed? What is necessary? What is provided? What is available?” Razorfish’s Digital Outlook Report 09 claimed that growing mobile usage will cause some consumption habits to converge: “As the mobile search experience begins to mirror that of the PC, so too do the expectations for types of content. This means users will increasingly begin to see the mobile device not only as a source of localized information on the go, but as an aid to many of their everyday tasks.” We are heading into a post- platform economy, where media organizations that can think beyond platforms in overall technology strategy may win.
This blog is an excerpt from The Big Thaw, a guide to the evolution of independent media, written by Tony Deifell of Q Media Labs and produced by The Media Consortium, a network of leading independent media outlets. Learn how your organization can use this report. For more information and recommendations from the study, click here.
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