The Cable Gamer, and everyone else, thinks that Convergence-- the ultimate fusion of the telephone, the TV, the computer, and the mobile device--is coming, and coming soon. So to try and keep up with things, I have started reading TechCrunch, the high tech blog, which snarkily covers Silicon Valley, Silicon Alley, etc. It's nice to know that attitude is always a vital part of the mix--any mix.
And here's an example of what's brewing in the Convergence world:
Topix, the local news community that allows readers to submit and edit stories, has secured deals with six content providers as it moves to establish itself as a one-stop-shop for local information.
Topix will now use Eventful as an events database, and will offer current TV and movie listings through Zap2It. InfoUSA will supply business directories, and the site will begin using LiveDeal for pet classifieds. Topix will be using Apartments.com to flesh out their apartment listings, and will use Informa Research Services to provide mortgage rate information.
Indeed, Topix is quite an interesting idea. As TechCrunch further observes:
Topix is clearly moving towards becoming a central hub for localized information rather than simply a news site. While the new features are logical extensions to what they’ve offered in the past, Topix may be trying to differentiate itself from Google News, which introduced local news earlier this year and has a much higher readership.
Others, too, are getting into the mix, such as The Huffington Post, which is expanding into a Chicago edition.
In other words, the blogosphere is sort of doing to news what CraigsList has done to classified ads.
And there's a lot of news out there--news is where you find it. For example, this just in from Justin.TV, a man was caught robbing an apartment, on camera. Very Truman Show.
Yes, somebody still has to cover the big things--wars, rumors of wars, and Brangelina. And somebody always will. But the local environment is changing. Or, to be more precise, it is Converging.
