Digital convergence is finally getting the recognition it deserves.
Governments all over are acknowledging that we are now in the digital age; that information, communication and entertainment are going to be key drivers of the New Economy. Why, there is even talk of the government of India resurrecting the long lost communication convergence legislation.
Most large media and entertainment companies like Disney, Newscorp, Sony and Time Warner are once again talking of unleashing the immense value of their content - new and archived - in this new magical world of convergence.
The reason why this may actually happen this time around is the better preparedness of all stakeholders. There are enough companies around the world from telcos to device manufacturers, software developers to web giants who have the wherewithal to drive the change.
The past few years have seen the emergence of multiple platforms like satellite TV, broadband cable, and wireless, which are delivering all kinds of content to a plethora of devices. Convergence is no longer about what content you access through which device but how long do you engage with that content.
The Convergence Culture Consortium (C3) at the famous MIT sums it up succinctly, "There are three core concepts that are central to the way that we at C3 think about the current media landscape. Transmedia entertainment, participatory culture, and brand extension describe the same process as experienced by the creative artist, the media consumer, and the marketer."
Transmedia Entertainment describes the newfound flow of stories, images, characters,
information, and sounds across various media channels, in a coordinated fashion, which facilitates a deepening expansion of the consumer's experience.
Participatory Culture describes the way consumers interact with media content, media producers, and each other as they explore the resources available to them in the expanded media landscape.
Consumers become active participants in shaping the creation, circulation, and interpretation of media content. Such experiences deepen the consumer's emotional investment in the media property, and expand their awareness of both content and brand.
Experiential Marketing refers to the development of novel approaches, to brand extension and marketing, which play out across multiple media channels so that the consumer's identification with the product is enhanced and deepened each time they re-encounter the brand in a new context.
However, easy access and multiple choices can lead to extreme dumbing down of media and we have already begun to see evidence of it onscreen and in print.
As a young American blogger Noah Weiss writes," TV shows require a sound bite, a clip that has no meaning and no direction. Movies are aimed solely at producing big box office numbers, regardless of the message they're trying to convey.
Books are published only when a publisher feels that it's safe enough and general enough to appeal to the mass market." This abject surrender to market forces is the ultimate hurdle to change. Media and entertainment is facing this dilemma.
The author is chairman of Reliance Entertainment and the views expressed are his own.