DIGITAL WORLD ‘92: A MATTER OF PERSPECTIVE…

Although it is almost axiomatic at this point that digital technologies are infiltrating traditional communications media, executives from the so-called “convergence industries” — i.e., consumer electronics, computers, communications, mass media, publishing and entertainment — all have a world view peculiar to where they sit. This was particularly obvious at last month’s Digital World conference, hosted by Seybold Seminars, where a stellar lineup of keynote speakers opened and closed the conference, addressing the theme, “Erasing the Boundaries.” When all was said and done, the picture each speaker painted was eminently logical, and from their respective points of view, accurate.

So is it true, as Microsoft’s Nathan Myhrvold said, that “Somebody’s got to be wrong”? No matter what predictions the pundits make today, how the convergence takes shape is likely to be something no prognosticator short of Nostradamus could have foreseen. Meantime, their articulate points of view are a fascinating glimpse into a world in the throes of transition.

… AND THE PERSPECTIVES THAT MATTER

This year, 74 speakers “converged” on 14 panels to discuss the vast breadth of issues affecting the inexorable march toward digital technology. Topics ranged from the changing role of the phone company to location-based entertainment, multimedia pioneers discussed candidly what went wrong with the dream of interactivity, cable TV providers expressed certainty that the visions of those pioneers were not in vain. And for the first time, Hollywood artists — including actresses Lily Tomlin and Shelley Duvall — made an appearance to say, “Keep working — we really want this stuff.”

Panelists came from all corners of the digital world. They included Ed Horowitz, of Viacom International, from the cable world; Max Whitby of the pioneering MultiMedia Corp., from London’s BBC; Brenda Laurel, virtual reality specialist, from the research labs; Nat Goldhaber, new CEO of Kaleida, from computers and software investment; Koji Hase, senior manager at Toshiba Corp., from consumer electronics; and Kathleen Tyner of Strategies for Media Literacy, from education. An eclectic crowd, their collective contribution was significant, and most illuminating to all.