CNM Editorial

The opinions expressed in this editorial are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Decima Reports. One of the key markers of this bubbling age of new business models will be the jargon that went with it. As quickly as new technologies develop, new buzzwords are created to convince consumers and investors of the merits of risky business plans. How seat-of-the-pants can a dot com plan be when it’s backed with the weighty words "synergizing turnkey eyeballs through the medium of the webumentary"? Heady stuff that invokes the cachet of real science and management theory. But, buzzwords can disappear as quickly as they’re churned out. Bundling, the magic re-packaging of telecommunications services at a single, attractive price point, was the way of the future just a year ago. As jargon goes, it was harmless enough, and could be understood by the lay-person. Maybe that’s why the word has all but vanished from the ICT execs’ lexicon. Bundling has been a failure. Consumers understood that buying bundled services meant spending more to save a little. An extra tier of programming here, a few more minutes of airtime there, new voice services for the landline and unlimited access to electronically recycled print copy and one’s spending over a $100 a month before you can say VIP. So, the industry cranked up the jargon. Something sexy, but not easily interpreted – like Britney Spears explaining XML. VCs and journalists have replaced bundling with the industry-sanctioned word convergence. Consumers are just beginning to understand that convergence will be digital, that it has something to do with the Internet, and that young people are stealing their dancing music from the computer. Some may believe it will cost them less. Capitalists are afraid of missing the next big trend, and convergence is it. Gone are the days when they’d pour money into companies promising to exploit the move to bundling. Now, they insist it have something to do with convergence before signing the cheques. What will next year’s version of the concept be? I’m betting heavily on content funnelization as the next big revolutionary business model. Watch for it in vision statements everywhere. Have a very happy New Year :)

CNM Editorial

Broadcast | December 14, 2000

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