Converging on Convergence

I wrote this piece last night for my Lockergnome audience, but an email from a reader spurred me to share it here as well…
Convergence. Just what is convergence? It's a converging of. something. Technology? People? Media? Communications? Services? Products? Yes. I helped address the question on a panel this evening, arranged by the Washington Software Association. “Is Now the Time to Capitalize on Convergence?” As the only self-described geek in that group, I said yes. There are some caveats to this emerging trend, however. The biggest no-no is one word we all love to hate: proprietary. I hate feeling like I'm locked into something – anything. I don't like my mobile phone service provider, I don't like my cable company, I don't like devices that don't want to play along with other devices. Formats that don't want to play along with existing players. Business plans that wind up ruining my life instead of freeing it – the exact reason why we have to take matters into our own hands. In many ways, we already are.
I spend a lot of money on entertainment – more than I probalby should. We have access to darn near everything on television these days, we have a Netflix account, a Napster account, etc. I'm not freeloading off of anybody, by any stretch. So, when I download this week's HDTV copy of `My Name is Earl' through a seeded torrent, I didn't feel guilty at all. Even when I record programs on my Media Center, I fast forward through commercials if I'm sitting right there. so what's the difference if someone else fast forwards `em for me? I saw the network bug, I knew what I was watching, and I would have been just as happy with it were I to see it live or on any other form of media. In fact, I took that AVI, transcoded it to MP4, transfered it to my PSP, and watched it while I worked out on my Gazelle. That's convergence, baby – and no company brought that to me. I had to go out and get it MYSELF.
They should be THRILLED I even wanted to watch the show in the first place!
“Convergence makes most sense in looking at how it is affecting the end-user's experience. It's true that we can create our own music playlists to listen to on just about any device. We can already receive e-mail anywhere, anytime. And the technology exists to watch television programs on demand and away from the TV.”
Control is an illusion.
We can't yet get media [everywhere] on our own terms. The more agencies, businesses, and markets try to shove DRM and content management down our throats, the more we'll rebel against them. I don't think what I'm doing is stealing at all – stealing something that they're already broadcasting over the airwaves for free?! I'm buying access to something… whether I have time, or choose, to watch it or not. I've got a beautiful plasma screen that's sitting in the other room, but its HDTV Comcast controller is absolute crap when it comes to recording anything. If they don't want us (I'm NOT the only one) to skip commercials, they need to change their model. If they were looking for suggestions, I'd give 'em without blinking. The world is changing, fast… and it's going to change with or without sanctioned help. Convergence isn't about someone else's business model – it's about taking charge of your lifestyle, on your terms, on your time, on your ground, on your whim.
Microsoft did the world a gigantic favor when it began, bringing software companies and developers together to a single PC platform. Windows, however, is not impervious to the impending crunch. How much do you rely on the Internet these days for your daily grind? Anything I can keep online, I do. Anything I can do online, I do. The operating system, as you know it, will fundamentally change in ways we can't even imagine. The Internet is the ultimate operating system. And just wait until Google unleashes free WiFi nationwide. Just you wait. Does your wireless carrier screws you over every month? It'll blow away like a fart in the wind soon enough. And when it does, the world won't mourn its passing. They should've treated us better when they had the chance. It's why I'll buy or rent a DVD instead of going to a theater these days – same money, virtually same experience. I'm happy with that.
Convergence is already here – it's just very messy.

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