Convergence is already here, and it’s a Good Thing™
As Professor Rich Gordon highlights, Convergence is a tricky thing to define. Gordon latches on to Ithiel de Sola Pool’s explanation:
“The current convergence between historically separated modes of communication lies in the habitability of digital electronics. Conversation, theater, news and text are all increasingly delivered electronically … [E]lectronic technology is bringing all modes of communications into one grand system.”
Not only is this exciting, but it is already happening for me in a real, concrete way. There are two obvious examples of how converged media directly benefit me as a student here at Northwestern. First is something almost everyone here can relate to: NUTV. Second is the Byzantine-yet-powerful Voice-over-IP telephony system I rely on.