Steven R. Perkins
INF 103 Computer Literacy
August 5, 2013
Converging Technologies There have been so many advancements in technology in my life that I can’t keep up with them. The telephones that once were plugged into the walls are now being carried around in your pockets or bags. Our modern day kitchens have traveled through time and we now have the use of microwave ovens. Automobiles have seen their share of changes, and the way they are fueled have gone from gasoline to electronic energy and I know that the future will bring other forms of energy to power planes, trains and automobiles. Some day we will see cars flying across the air reminding us of the cartoons we us to watch and laughed about the idea of cars flying. Technology is forever changing and developing to meet the needs of our forever changing world. Most of the changes we have seen and will see are due to the converging of technologies.
Convergence in technology is understood by common man in terms of the ability of different network platforms to carry essentially similar kinds of services. It could be a massive interconnection of digital technologies. The connection could be with wires or wireless (e.g. blue tooth etc.), voice or data, terrestrial or space, the goal is to connect and connect with the purpose of sharing information. All our different mediums of various information technologies, has the transmission and manipulation of information, as their common purpose. Now-a-days, the radio and television broadcasts are now feasible via the internet over telecommunication networks and internet services possible through satellite, cable and terrestrial television broadcast networks. Today, convergence is most often discussed in terms of the technologies used in computers, television, and telephony (Delhi Business Review, Vol.3, and No.1). The history of mankind speaks about the significant role played by industrial and technical revolution in changing the facet of human being from stone-age past to present day civilized society. The Human being, the best creature of God, blessed with God’s most power gift – the human brain, long ago, while interacting with nature realized the power of systematic thinking. The process of thinking and experimentation with nature, led to innumerable scientific breakthroughs in divergent fields. Application of these, in course of time, gave shape of industries, which, in turn started changing the life style of human beings and economy of the society. The needs multiplied and so too the efforts towards more research and improvisation of technology to fulfill those needs. The present day advancement in technology before us is a result of chain of pain staking research and improvisation process. It is reflected as “sophistication” everywhere – whether it is office automation, household appliances, multimedia and entertainment gadgets or medical equipment where “connectivity” and “touch of a button” ensures the compliance of desired process. In this research paper we will be looking at just a small fragment of what convergence of technologies involves. We are going to look at Convergence in Email messaging, and internet, and finally the automotive industry.
The days of siloed email messaging are over. Or at least they should be, says Dave Lewis, CMO of Message Systems (B to B; 9/17/2012, Vol.97 Issue 8, pS020.1p). Only when there is message convergence, he says, can real engagement and conversion happen. “Message convergence is an engagement strategy that accommodates the changes in [user] behavior relative to the different channels so you can speak to the [user] in the most relevant place with the most relevant message,” Lewis said. Marketers must integrate multiple data sources and channels so they can be acted on, shared and analyzed, he said. In some cases, that means implementing a single marketing automation system. In others, it could be as simple as creating a data management and