In 2004, communications technology looks like this:

Content creation
Most informational content (and some entertainment content) is created using computers and stored digitally. It is often stored in formats, however, that make it difficult to use for more than one purpose. A newspaper article formatted and stored cannot easily be translated into a Web page. A Web page formatted for delivery to a computer must be converted to be readable on an Internet-connected cellular phone. A digital videotape used for broadcast news must be "ingested" into a computer and, because of bandwidth limitations, compressed before it can be streamed over the Internet.

Content distribution
More and more people (in the United States, more than half of all households and a greater proportion of businesses and schools) have access to the Internet. And thanks to the World Wide Web, companies that create content are able to distribute it digitally. But while the Internet has changed people's patterns of media usage, it is far from dominant as a distribution channel.

As of 2003, according to investment banker and consultant Veronis Suhler Stevenson, the average American spent 149 hours per year (about 24 minutes per day) using the Internet, an amount of time comparable to that spent with newspapers and more than that spent with consumer magazines. But it was less than one-tenth the time spent with television and about one-sixth the time spent with radio. In part, that is because more than one-quarter of Americans don't use the Internet; in part, it is because dial-up connections -- relied upon by almost 9 in 10 home-Internet users -- are frustratingly slow.

Content consumption
Other than the computer, most consumers do not use digital display devices to view information or entertainment. Although the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has set a 2006 deadline for conversion to digital television, most TV viewers rely on analog programming delivered to traditional sets. Cable television companies are the leading providers of high-speed Internet access, but their Ethernet cables connect to computers, not to TV sets or set-top boxes. And while there was a flurry of interest in 2000 and 2001 in e-book readers as a way to distribute digital books, they failed in the marketplace.

In short, the era of complete technology convergence is not yet upon us. But we can see its outlines taking shape. The next few years, you will see a number of key technology developments:

-- The creation and widespread use of digital content management systems within media companies, which will store content in digital formats -- such as Extensible Markup Language (XML) -- that allow it to be delivered relatively easily to different platforms.

-- The proliferation of wireless Internet access, either through cellular telephone systems or through more localized wireless networks that, in turn, connect to the wired Internet.

-- The transformation of television as TV sets take on more and more of the attributes of computers. For technology convergence to enter the living room, televisions will need access to the Internet, the capacity to receive and store digital content and the ability for viewers to interact with content (and advertising) on the screen. All these technology changes are starting to happen. Internet access is available through cable Internet services. Digital broadcasting has already begun. Products such as AKIMBO allow the storage and playback of digital video. Cable and satellite TV providers have also begun -- especially in Europe -- to roll out interactive television services.

Technological convergence continues to move forward. Even more significantly, more and more of the media audience is comfortable in a world where information streams in through multiple channels.

ec+m has the ability to make convergence work for you.