Convergence Conversation

I'm eagerly awaiting my review copy of a new book entitled "Managing Content Marketing: The Real-World Guide to Creating Passionate Subscribers to Your Brand" by Robert Rose and Joe Pulizzi. This book builds on the foundation of "Get Content, Get Customers" that Joe Pulizzi co-wrote with Newt Barrett at the outset of the content marketing phenomenon, back in early 2008.

Today, I'm sensing that savvy marketers everywhere are ready to move their budgets away from under-performing advertising, to something that's potentially more appealing to their customers. More...

Data is no longer the Ugly Stepsister of media – let along new media. This has never been more relevant for those people - like me - looking to build a complimentary experience on mobile or tablet for people lounging around watching TV.

Want to watch the golf and use your thumbs at the same time? Searchable, configurable data is the difference between mobile and tablets merely being used to replicate that big-screen TV experience (bad idea) to making these devices useful as a 3^rd screen experience (very good idea).

Data properly used works with social activity, VOD clips and dare I say it, betting. More...

Amazon is probably the Internet's best retailer. As it launches its own AppStore, we provide a detailed analysis of its digital media business and pick out the key opportunities it offers to content owners, network service providers and manufacturers - click here to see the analysis on our research site.

Source: Amazon, STL Partners

'Growing the Mobile Internet' and 'Fostering Vibrant Ecosystems: Lessons from Apple' are also key session themes at our upcoming 'New Digital Economics' Brainstorms (next week in Palo Alto, 5-7 April, and London, 11-13 May). More...

eMarketers reports that media tablets and ereaders have become the preferred platforms for consuming online digital media. Moreover, 2010 sales of both types of device were strong, according to the laterest market study by International Data Corporation (IDC).

Worldwide, 10.1 million tablets were shipped in the forth quarter of 2010, up from 4.5 million in Q3 2010. Ereader shipments rose from 3 million in 2009 to 12.8 million in 2010.

eMarketer estimates worldwide tablet sales will reach 24 million this year, about 80 percent of which will be Apple iPads.

Research from Boston Consulting Group (BCG) confirms that tablet and ereader purchase intentions are high -- especially among those who are already familiar with the devices. More...

Today post is a guest post from John Enser and Matt Phillips, and is the executive summary of Chapter 2 (‘Pipes’) of their 2011 Convergence Survey: The fundamental issue of how to deliver content and services is one that continues to … Continue reading →

We've just published Getting to a Billion Smartphones in 2013, a report by Telco 2.0 partners Arete Research on the prospects for the Smartphone market. The report forecasts the emergence of smartphones costing just $100 to make in 2011 and massive growth in global market sales volumes, with impacts for chip-makers, Smartphone OS, and telcos. It includes:

• Forecasts of Smartphone shipments by region to 2015


• Smartphone Mix and Margins


• Getting to the $100 Smartphone in 2011


• Share by Smartphone OS


• Semis: Logically, More - Doubling the logic chip market


• Memory Madness - Trippling the memory markets


• Telcos:

More...

Brand marketers in a variety of different industries are beginning to accelerate their multimedia production and distribution efforts. They're acting more like non-fiction storytellers and commercial publishers, as they create new forms of digital content.

This established trend was one of the significant themes at South by Southwest Interactive (SXSWi) 2011. In addition, the early-adoption of Transmedia Storytelling techniques -- by a relative few forward-looking organizations -- was the noteworthy emerging theme.

I attended several conference sessions on these topics. More...

3D television continues to gain traction in key markets, with nearly 15 million U.S. homes forecast to own a 3DTV set by the end of next year, according to the latest market study by Futuresource Consulting.

3DTV emerged early in 2010 with manufacturers quickly engaging in a battle for market supremacy. The price premium for the 3D feature has already reduced quite sharply and the well known-brands are now incorporating 3D in more and more of their TV and BD model ranges.

The year finished on a positive note for manufacturers, with strong sales during the final quarter. However, 3D content was unable to keep pace with consumer expectations, creating a lack of packaged 3D content at retail. More...

People want to access video content across the various video-capable devices they own, and service providers, content owners, online video distributors and device manufacturers are all keen to provide it on different platforms.

However, new technologies are needed to secure multi-platform video content against piracy and unauthorized access, according to the latest market study by Heavy Reading.

"Content owners will not allow their content to be distributed on a platform that is vulnerable to piracy," says Aditya Kishore, senior analyst at Heavy Reading. "However, consumers want to be able to access copies of their purchased content across devices."

But content protection technology across different platforms is not always compatible, Kishore explains. More...