Rosemary Lising
Google must concentrate on making money on its acquisitions. Take us to the next level where rich media, banners, mobile and adwords are all managed from one point across the entire world of Google. A network which we don't think will stop growing anytime soon.
If you look at some of Google's purchases, it is quite clear that the company sees mobile as key to the future. I also suspect it will be getting into the real world, so you don't just search documents or timetables, but you actually do searches on real life as sensors start to feed real world information into the internet.
Will newspapers survive the next decade?
Rosemary Lising
Yes, but perhaps not in their current form. People will still require informed and opinionated news, information and comment that resonates with their own political or geographical viewpoint, it's just that they will consume it when and how they want, be that through mobile, podcast or online.
Ian Neild
Digital paper or e-paper has improved functionality over traditional screens with an increased size and contrast ratio. It is still quite costly, but not if you add up all the incremental costs over a lifetime and add in flexibility. The media business may not be moving so many pulped trees, but will still produce the information that goes to customer.
Will consumers have to pay for media in the future or will it all be advertiser-funded?
Rosemary Lising
We seem to be coming full circle. In the beginning, advertising largely subsidised content in print or TV. With the digitalisation of TV, pay-per-view and paid music downloads, content has started to cost the consumer more. If advertisers are smart, they'll close the loop and reward consumer 'good behaviour' by funding their content consumption.
Ian Neild
Free is always a good price for the customer and if the adverts are relevant, they are not seen as spam. I'd see a justified premium in media that contains mainly the articles that are of interest to me. Some media will be free to the customer and some will be paid for — which the customer values more, I can't say, but I know which one gets left on the train more.
What does IPTV have to do to in order to be a viable medium for consumers?
Rosemary Lising
Like any medium, it has to attract and retain a viable and attractive subscriber base through providing compelling content that viewers cannot get anywhere else.
Ian Neild
It already is. It has been possible for many years but it is moving from expensive and geeky to cheap and off-the-shelf. A lot of younger people are switching from the TV screen to the PC, moving away from watching a broadcast to a personalised channel.
Will mobile TV ever take off?
Rosemary Lising
Well, it actually has at least left the ground in Japan and South Korea and will be viable in countries where circumstances (for example, traffic jams, long commutes) will provide a sizeable captive audience. Critically, both content providers and handset manufacturers have to improve their products and services for this medium to ever reach cruising altitude.
Ian Neild
With the range of portable display devices available now, you can watch media on the move — the problem is the screens are too small for extended viewing unless you have a laptop, and battery life can be a problem. On the horizon are roll-up flexible screens, mini projectors and, potentially, head-up displays or direct retinal writing.
With the advent of voice and face recognition technology, could the scenes from Minority Report become a reality?
Rosemary Lising
There are privacy and cultural sensitivities at stake here, but it's amazing how quickly we humans acclimatise to new heights of technical invasiveness — look for banking to be an innovator in this sector. More interesting would be the growing role of the telcos as 'infomediaries', the trusted gatekeeper sending tailored content and managing transactions.
Ian Neild
If the customer wants it, then potentially, it could happen. If done with the customer's security and privacy as the number one priority, it promises a wonderful experience. If done badly, then the shopping nightmare gets worse. It all depends on what you want to get from shopping and how much information you're prepared to share.
