In my previous life (dot com days), I used to fly all over the world and talk on the topic of convergence. My thesis was simple: eventually all data, video, phone calls, audio, video would be delivered via an Internet protocol (IP) based platform. I always talked about this convergence from the device-side of things; television, handheld devices, set top boxes. Now that the dot com bubble has poppped and broadband adoption is now over 65% in the United States, convergence is happening right before our eyes in the media industry.

With this in mind, I’d like to propose that the ‘big bang’ of convergence has been YouTube.com. Yes, this free online video hosting service purchased by Google last year is democratizing the last of the media frontiers: television.

Think of what desktop publishing did to the book industry. I was working at a typesetting company back in the late 1980’s when they bought their first Apple computer. Within three years, Weimer Typesetting was purchased by a local printer in Indianapolis for about $3.1 million and a few years later, the name was basically worthless. Desktop publishing lowered the barrier for average Joes to design, layout, and publish their own print publications. Fifteen years later, print on demand took this industry to the next level of democratization by allowing people to print one copy of their books at a time. Publishers were no longer the gatekeepers to the books that people bought. Bookstores were no longer the destination for book sales, Amazon.com took buyers online with a broader selection of books.

Second, look at what the Internet did to the radio industry. Remember back in 1995 when Real Networks introduced the Real Audio Player and Broadcast.com (later acquired by Yahoo!) took most radio stations online? People were now able to listen to their favorite broadcast radio shows from all over the world on their PCs. Fast forward to today, now that 67% of America is dialed in with broadband and Apple has sold over 100 million iPods, people are coming out of the woodwork producing podcasts (or Internet radio shows). People like the ability to listen to what they want, when they want. The radio industry has been democratized as well.

Lastly, look at the television industry. Traditionally, it takes a lot of money and an FCC license to produce and ‘publish’ a television show. Local broadcast stations and cable networks have been giving up ground to satellite television for years. Again, people like more channels, more choice, and thanks to Tivo and new set top boxes watch it when they want. But up until YouTube.com, average Joe had no way to easily and effectively distribute video. Today, YouTube.com allows anyone to create video content, push it online, and host it for the world to search and see. This my friends is the last frontier that needed to be conquered before true convergence happens. Network television no longer is the gatekeeper of video content, and televisions are no longer the ‘last 10 feet’ of convergence: iPods, cell phones, and hand held devices are the ‘last 3 feet’ of convergence.

So what does this all mean? It means that people like me can provide a multi-media, multi-platform source of news and entertainment with nothing more than a laptop, video camera, and Internet connectivity. And guess what? That’s exactly what I’m doing.

With atGeist.com, we’re providing:

• A monthly print publication that is mailed to 13,000 Geist Reservoir residents
• A twice weekly podcast radio show at GeistRadio.com
• Video segments for many of our feature articles

We can provide the full spectrum of media in a local market, thanks in large part to YouTube.com. Video was the last frontier to be conquered, now it is up to the devices and transparent software to streamline the delivery and consumption of all medias. The lock that newspapers, book publishers, radio stations, and television stations have had on media delivery has been obliterated by the Internet.