Digital convergence for business

It can be thought of enabling "any content, anytime, anywhere through any device." This may already sound like a cliché, but this concept has necessitated a fundamental re-drawing of how players—from content providers to distributors to retailers to technology companies—execute on the capabilities and alliances they need to compete and win

All along, we've had traditional members of that chain, but now we also have newer members. Players like Facebook, Google and MySpace that simply didn't exist 10 years ago are not only driving convergence, but further pushing boundaries by enabling and offering consumers new types of media and forms of distribution. User-generated content from blogs through RSS feeds are an example of the massive expansion of interactive media, which has underpinned the transformation of the value chain into a two-way exchange between consumers and content creators.
"Old media" will be around for many years to come, without changing much. However, the expansion of flavors and models of media interaction will further evolve. That means we're experiencing both digital convergence andemergence.
Digital convergence also means the transition of traditional media distribution channels into emerging and new channels. For example, on some online sites, consumers can request a title. Instead of following the model of delivering a pre-manufactured item via the traditional value chain, the content creator can manufacture it in real time—perhaps customize it to the consumer's request—and have it delivered .(as in case of DELL Computers).

This kind of convergence has actually been going on for quite a while. New revenue streams are evolving as this convergence grows and develops, whether those streams are from advertising or more customized ways of packaging content, as in the previous example.
Companies need to figure out how to leverage branding—whether that's the brand of the title or of the provider—and how to connect with the consumers interested in that brand. Building communities around the brand can include online communities where consumers discuss the brand or share thoughts and ideas with each other. The entertainment and media industries are moving to a direct-to-consumer model in terms of how they provide content and how consumers experience the content. Then consumers discuss—thus further market the content—by word of mouth.
Increasingly, online market share will become blurred into maximizing market share across all the channels and platforms of consumption. Start with the "three-screen experience" of TV, PC and mobile for media consumption and then see how every stakeholder group in the value chain—whether they be content providers, advertisers or distributors—has a huge amount to gain and lose by offering consumers different models and means of consumption. Apple's ecosystem across the iPod, iTV and now the iPhone is a great example of a company trying to enable this three-screen experience and reap the benefits of aggregated market share that this provides.
Finally, digital convergence enables this kind of direct-to-consumer marketing by eliminating the restraints of physical market space. If there isn't room on the shelf of a retailer for content, that doesn't mean it can't be marketed. By being available online, even limited-appeal content can still be available for consumers, create its own revenue stream, and at the same time help build loyalty from those consumers who will then turn to the online retailer for other content