tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17898384.post4693219788851433179..comments2024-03-25T21:41:06.801-07:00Comments on Mobile Opportunity: Can we please stop talking about convergence?Michael Macehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17966107280587843091noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17898384.post-36493139170278309272007-03-13T17:08:00.000-07:002007-03-13T17:08:00.000-07:00How about this?1. "Designing for [Influential] Dev...How about this?<BR/><BR/>1. "Designing for [Influential] Devices";<BR/>2. "Using [Influential] Services"<BR/>3. "Photos, Videos, Music, News, Games, Computation, and Navigation and Communication Are Now [Influencing] Handsets"<BR/>4. "IP enables [Influential] Networks"<BR/><BR/>Could it be that convergence is just a technical term, like interoperability? Is it possible that these technologies we're mashing together and remixing into our favorite colors are powerful primarily in as much as they influence our participation in our culture(s)? <BR/><BR/>If the answer to both of the above is "yes" then I propose we start talking about influential technologies, influential applications, service influences, influential users, vendor influences, influenced programming - in short, the Influential Economy. That <B>influence</B> become the salient subject, in the sense that influence defines good jazz, blues, hip-hop, rock, wine, stew, writing, painting, cartoons, captions, jokes, and limmericks.<BR/><BR/>You know what I'm saying? <BR/><BR/>Thank you, <A HREF="http://www.harpers.org/TheEcstasyOfInfluence.html" REL="nofollow">Jonathan Lethem</A>.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17898384.post-10747091526659109392007-03-12T23:42:00.000-07:002007-03-12T23:42:00.000-07:00Thanks, folks.Okay, for analogies we have a layer ...Thanks, folks.<BR/><BR/>Okay, for analogies we have a layer cake (interesting comment, Bertil), an emergence (from one of the track backs), and a whole bunch of terms from Avi.<BR/><BR/>"Unhappily coexisting" is a pretty good description for today, but not a good description for the long term (because the coexisting thing won't last). I kind of like "fusing."<BR/><BR/>Any more ideas?Michael Macehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17966107280587843091noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17898384.post-22693086183415624092007-03-12T09:35:00.000-07:002007-03-12T09:35:00.000-07:00Mike, From the perspective of a network infrastruc...Mike, <BR/>From the perspective of a network infrastructure vendor, their market is converging, I think. Most service providers are converging their networks to an IP-based core around which they can provide triple-play and quad-play. I do agree that the end markets seem to be diverging. So I think there's a contextual element to get out of the way first when discussing convergence...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17898384.post-78104666326900166122007-03-12T08:43:00.000-07:002007-03-12T08:43:00.000-07:00Sorry, I have a tough time with this one from my p...Sorry, I have a tough time with this one from my perspective. <BR/><BR/>The functions of once separate mobile devices - imaging, music, video, gaming, navigation, computing, messaging, etc. - are [insert word here] onto handsets. <BR/><BR/>[converging, fusing, merging, blast furnace melting, combining, joining, unhappily coexisting, jammed together, melting, married, stuck, placed separately, booger (what, this isn't a Madlib?), lumped, intertwined, forced, welded, seamlessly integrated, converged]<BR/><BR/>-aviAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17898384.post-16707101340673933732007-03-11T22:38:00.000-07:002007-03-11T22:38:00.000-07:00Actually, my employer (Orange) uses "convergence" ...Actually, my employer (Orange) uses "convergence" to designate the blending of mobile, phone and internet (then data, now entertainement) services --- a synonim to Triple-play. That is happening, it's a technological challenge and a good thing (provided niche competition is safe). I used "blend" because the classical, powerful, image is of someone coming home while looking at something on his mobile, and have it seamlessly appear on hi big screen.<BR/><BR/>I love the "forge" image to designate the fact that two industries see their fontier collapse --- but neither the blend, nor the forge assumes a long tail of niche offers is not springing.<BR/><BR/>A model that sounds stable to me is a complex layer cake of platforms and content, each content being the frame of more a specific need, not unlike heavy industry made current electronic possible.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17898384.post-33531704692380774242007-03-11T22:31:00.000-07:002007-03-11T22:31:00.000-07:00I was on a panel this morning at SXSW called "Desi...I was on a panel this morning at SXSW called "Designing for Convergent Devices". I never liked the name -- I made the point in my closing remarks that the convergence is in the technology used on the back ends and on the types of application supported by different devices, but I feel that devices will actually continue to diverge -- there's a minimum level of networking and data sharing that's going to be out there, but it's more of the backbone that supports of specialized services and use cases.UnwiredBenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17890309289960324766noreply@blogger.com