The United Nations of Communications

I, too, have been a strong and vocal supporter of the need for new information, and the consumer will no longer tolerate repurposed media, which is a the thing of the past. Think about yourself. Do you want the same data sent to you from a myriad of sources? Or, would you prefer to receive data that fits your lifestyle and lifecycle?

Like it or not, branded content is here to stay—and I like it. Not that you can’t access non-branded media—you can. It’s your choice, not that of the originator or distributor of the data.

Remember the fourth “C” in media convergence? The consumer—yes! That is you, and you are already a vested and voting member of the UNC. You have voted and continue to vote: “I WANT MY MEDIA THE WAY I WANT MY MEDIA AND I WANT IT NOW!”

Remember the advertising slogan, “Have it your way?” Well, forget about the burger. This trend toward convergence has entered the combined world of communications and marketing and will continue to “do it your way,” or better said, “HAVE IT YOUR WAY!”

Bob Kanell of Sports Illustrated discussed the media landscape and trends on the horizon for the current generation of tablets. In other words: media convergence. The panel, loaded with a diverse cross-section of talent, drove home the point that we are at the early stages of content consolidation, selected content, and online media expansions.

Everyone was clearly stunned to hear that National Geographic has more than 100,000 paid online subscribers. This raised the question: Which came first: the content or the subscribers?

I subscribe to the print edition of National Geographic. I love its images, content and nearly everything about the publication. So in my case, the switch to the digital version will happen soon.

My experience with other titles’ digital vs. print editions is in many ways positive on all fronts, with an A+ for image reproduction. I subscribe to Cruising World (CW) in both formats. And although the sailing images within the printed pages of CW are exceptional, those same images liven to a greater degree on the screen of my iPad 2. A limitation and a negative is spread or two-page advertising; broken/split images just don’t work for me. The need to present spread ads is addressed well by WIRED magazine, and this type of format needs to be adopted across the tablet landscape.