Convergence vs. Divergence

In the June 17 edition of Ad Age, marketing guru Al Ries contributes a column entitled "Another product of convergence, the iPhone is destined for failure."

I guess I'm not surprised. As gaga as everyone is going over this thing, it could be somewhat fashionable to pooh-pooh it. If the iPhone fizzles, "I told you so" will be worth its weight in gold. And if it doesn't, no harm in trying, eh?

But the column raises a couple of interesting ideas. One, Ries makes clear the difference between convergence devices -- tools that do multiple things -- and divergence devices -- tools that do one thing very, very well, setting it far apart from competing devices. The first iPod was a divergence device, Ries contends. Two, Ries suggests that convergence devices are destined to fail.

To make that case, he cites interactive television and media-center PCs. And -- this is what I love/hate about his argument -- he says that convergence failures are never seen as conceptual failures, but as execution failures? Huh? That's kind of like saying someone's being defensive, and when they say, "No, I'm not," responding by saying... "See!?!"

Of course there've been execution failures. But I don't think it's farfetched to think that interactive TV and media-center PCs (or centralized PC control of multiple devices or systems in the home, even lighting and heating) is a possibility in the future. What's to gain in writing off those ideas because no one's been able to execute on it yet?

Curious.

Products I Love XXII

Books, records, and the like are my residential albatross. I have many. And every time I move -- and occasionally more frequently -- I yearn for fewer possessions and more open space where I live. Video tapes are one of the more egregious frustrations. While I love the packaging elements of CDs, records, books, and the like, VHS slip cases are next to useless. The amount of information they provide and the real estate given to artistic graphics and content are little -- and the tapes just have too much of a footprint.

So I'm thrilled silly to have recently purchased a Sony Disc Burner. My new VRD-MC3 has the footprint about twice the size of my new DVD player, bought in January. It has multiple jacks -- you can record from a VCR, a video camera, a computer, or memory cards. And it has just two buttons: record and stop.

While it took me awhile to realize that the S-Video cable trumps the RCA cables in terms of VCR output, I'm now up and running, recording an old video tape that I'm not entirely sure I need to keep around physically. That tape is a recording of a talk I gave at a Neill Corp. conference -- Serious Business -- more than five years ago.

On the packaging tip, the hardware comes with a CD with software on it. That CD includes the operating instructions as a PDF file. iTunes often features virtual booklets with albums that you download, but I don't understand why every electronic media -- books, records, videos -- doesn't include the physical packaging, information, and content as electronic files on the media. Seems like a no brainer!

DVDs take up eminently less room than VHS tapes, and I have high hopes that this tool will help free up some packing boxes -- and valuable space in my apartment. I can always make copies of the DVDs. I've yet to test the quality of the burned DVD, but I have high expectations.

Has anyone else used this tool? It's my latest geek freak.

History Bits

It's a big day in media and technology history:

On this day in 1970, the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) was signed. In 1934, the Communications Act of 1934 established the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC). In 1914, a radiotelegraphic link was established between Germany and the U.S. and German Emperor Wilhelm II and US President Woodrow Wilson marked the event by exchanging telegrams. In 1912, the eight-hour work day was established in the U.S. ... And in 1846, the first baseball game under recognizable modern rules is played in Hoboken, New Jersey. Happy Birthday ... Guy Lombardo (1902), Moe Howard (1897) and Blaise Pascal (1623).

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