Convergence and the ‘One True Device’
by Imran Ali
Mobile operators, handset manufacturers and operating systems vendors have a tendency to become breathlessly excited by the possibility of all-in-one super phones such as the N95 and iPhone.
Yet, few take the time to critically understand the ethnographic reality of convergence. I spent many years pointing out to my former employers that convergence and digital TV was less about crude interactive and more about understanding what people were googling on their wifi laptops as they watched TV!
By the same token, a recent piece by Reuters on the use of text-messaging promotions by radio broadcasters is a indictment of the blinkered nature of convergence discourse in the industry.
Rather than pursuing the mirage of the One-True-Device, operators and handset builders need to sharpen their ethnographic understanding and open their innovation processes to a wider community of developers. There is more than one model of convergence chaps!
Interestingly, Reuters’ Radio stations keying in to text-message promotions, doesn’t mention anything about support from operators and vendors…
