Turncoat Politics

Convergent Technologies- using something for something else

I met Robert Tercek and he made a point that not many people do- something is what something is unless you can use something for something else.  He absolutely didn’t say it in that way, but what we were talking about was how some clients want exactly what they are seeing out in the marketplace.  For example- they want to have a place where people can upload their vacation photos because they are a hotel brand (why would they do that, youtube already exists).  They want a place where people can build a social network and talk about what they are doing at work (why would they do that, Twitter already exists).  If your experience online just does what people are doing already, it isn’t worth it.  You need to find a way to be additive.  When you are convergent using technology, you can build a bigger, better, web experience that is genuine and new- even if it is using existing technologies.  Check out this video from last summer where the Livestrong folks used Twitter and a chalker to spread fan messages: