New – well forgotten old or back to vinyl and film development. A curious look at divergence in technique from the editor of The Verge.
I've been thinking a lot lately about convergence – the process by which more and more aspects of our lives are somehow turned into software by smartphones. Convergence has served as the main organizing principle for the industry for decades: Microsoft dedicated the nineties and early 'noughties to fit everything a PC could have, and Apple's strategy to create a' digital center 'spawned the creation of a new ecosystem of devices such as iPod with PC software (iTunes, iPhoto).
Smartphones, of course, put an end to this class of devices: all devices from the slide have replaced applications. MP3 player? Compact camera? DVD player? PalmPilot? Now just applications. It's gotten to the point where we are trying to replace seemingly entrenched infrastructure with software, which is exactly what Uber does with a taxi. The smartphone has transformed convergence from an organizational principle into a major engine of revolution in the industry.
New or returning old?
But we can already see that the absorption process stops and the innovation 'pendulum' begins to move in the opposite direction. As part of the last CES, Kodak presented a new Super 8 film camera, which became the subject of active discussion. There were also vinyl players from Technics and Sony, that is, new devices for listening to records. Mike Fasulo, the CEO of Sony Electronics, told me with a serious face that '… blame it for a special occasion, this is an event, this is a novelty … this is a hot trend.' And yes, this is the trend: vinyl sales in the US are at their peak in 26 years and are generating more revenue for the music industry than streaming music. Sony CEO Kaz Hirai told me that Sony Music had to find and refurbish old record making equipment to meet production needs.
There are other signs of a reverse convergence process: mirrorless camera sales are on the rise, even though smartphone cameras are getting better. The flow of smart home gadgets is unstoppable, although it's not clear whether it's good to have a smart refrigerator. The trend is that the experience and devices that work separately from the smartphone become more interesting than the smartphones themselves, let's call this process divergence. And when they connect to a smartphone, it is only an auxiliary gadget. I have many theories about divergence, but the main one is the idea that smartphones (and computers in the general sense) have evolved from delightful symbols of the coming future into well-understood objects from everyday life that we take for granted. The magical process of watching music and photos merge together within a single smartphone screen was largely based on novelty, it was a new and better way to create and consume media. As the new becomes familiar, people are looking for something new again, this is natural.
We add to this the fact that the millennial generation has become part of the workforce and has free money, and the market for divergent products and services is already beginning to form: if the absorption of everything around by smartphones meant only virtualization of everything through the application, then the divergence lies in physical experience that diverts attention from the phone.
“This is an addition, not a replacement,” says Racked editor Nicola Fumo. 'On the subway, you have Spotify on your phone, but at home you create an' impression 'with vinyl records. For momentary photos, you use your smartphone, for more thoughtful shots (which will most likely end up in Instagram or Tumblr) – a film camera. For quick notes, the corresponding app on the phone, and Moleskine for keeping a diary. '
Convergence is convenience, divergence is experience and meaning
The new trend is completely reversing the idea of technology in the eighties, the time in which I grew up, when the slightest hint of technology meant improving something, and the word 'digital' was printed on tape recorders and answering machines like a mantra. Convergence put experience first, putting a decent camera, music player, and movie theater in your pocket all the time. Divergence prioritizes the quality of impressions to create meaning.
“I think the reason for this is the nature of millennials: they prefer impressions to things,” says Fumo. 'Traveling to Thailand is cooler than a sleek handbag.' But divergence means you can buy very real things that create impressions. A film camera is not just a confusing way of taking photos, it's a way of communicating the value of a moment. Is it so? So if that's what you want!
After eight years of widespread belief in the smartphone, what happens when users start marking their most important moments with other devices? And most importantly, what happens when smartphones are no longer as good and users decide to spend the money set aside for a new smartphone on another product that gives them the experience they value so much? How do you explain to people that the new software 'tricks' matter as much as the physical interaction they desire?
I don’t think the merger process is over – the smartphone can evolve in many ways and absorb even more different aspects of life. But divergence makes it clear that we need something more than a screen in our pocket, and this is a sign that a smartphone has become a daily necessity from a revolutionary new invention. We are waiting for a new one.
Original material by Nilay Patel
Elir: Definitely one of the most interesting stuff in recent memory. It would seem that a smartphone has every chance of becoming a universal tool, it is always at hand, its functionality allows you to perform many tasks, the best specialists work on its design. But all this breaks down about the peculiarities of thinking of the grown-up generation, some of whose representatives have had time to get pretty fed up with technology, they are looking for impressions from the world around them and choose 'warm tube sound' instead of headphones and a smartphone. Of course, consumer culture is growing more actively and smartphone sales are not going anywhere, but the first signs of a new 'wave' may be already here.
I involuntarily remembered how, as a preschooler, he loved to listen to records, he could literally sit for hours without stopping. I caught myself thinking that yes, even now I would love to listen to music on vinyl, a completely different level. True, it is difficult to imagine the modern generation of young people developing film in the red room for the sake of a few photographs, which may not work. I probably don't know much about them.
Coming back to the topic of the material, which approach is closer to you, are you for a universal device or for an 'experience'?