The Rise and Fall of Buzzwords

A decade before Steve Jobs (News - Alert) gave the world iPods, for instance, Apple Computer tried to get the world hooked on “personal digital assistants” in the form of a handheld device called Newton. Rest assured, Newton’s abject failure in the marketplace relegated the term “personal digital assistant” or “PDAs” to the dustbin of Silicon Valley verbiage.

Other buzzwords die because ubiquitous adoption makes their mention seem almost old-fashioned. The integration of IP-style applications to run behind the corporate firewall once was seen as something rather exotic that deserved its own unique moniker. It’s funny, but I don’t hear people talking much about “Intranets” with quite the passion they once did even though browser-based applications are relatively commonplace behind many of today’s corporate firewalls.

With this jargon history in mind, we come together today to formally mark the demise of the one of the former leading buzzwords that emerged in the early days of the broadband Web: Rich Media.

Five years ago, the term “Rich Media” carried with it the connotation of unlimited opportunities that seemed possible with the rise of online video. At the time,  “Rich Media” was a short-hand way of describing the integration of video into a broader set of digital applications – most notably PowerPoint slides – to create what many of us now regard as a “first-generation” Webcast experience.

But today, I doubt that you’ll see many vendors proclaiming a leadership role in the “rich media sector.” Think of “Rich Media” as the buzzword equivalent to the Backstreet Boys. You just don’t hear much from them anymore, either.

Actually, it’s ironic to see the term “Rich Media” fall into disuse now. Online experiences that integrate video with other networked software applications are becoming “richer” and more engaging than ever before.

Indeed, the spirit of “Rich Media” lives on as vendors find new ways to enhance the value of video by making it part of a larger online experience. In the process, this evolution in technology is creating more opportunities than ever before for video production houses to create video that organizations can use in day-to-day business communications.

Google (News - Alert) became the latest to hop onto the video communications bandwagon this month with extensive video chat capabilities available via its Google+ social media platform. The Google introduction presages more extensive integration of video communications by Microsoft into its key product offerings once it completes its previously announced Skype (News - Alert) acquisition.

The emergence of video chat will merely stoke more demand for video content of all types. Video chatting will ultimately lead to greater demand for video sharing – the ability to show or demonstrate pre-produced videos to the individuals you interact with online.

Imagine a corporate sales rep online with a prospect, for instance. At key points in an online video chat, the rep can click a button to show a pre-produced video that highlights key differentiation points between their product and the offerings of a chief rival.

Or consider the role of a customer sales representative. An online video chat can be used to provide some direct interaction with a real-life employee who can take a few minutes to diagnose a customer’s technical issue. Once the rep identifies the issue, they could go into screen-sharing mode where the technicians can either explain the solution using diagrams stored on their computer or share a pre-produced video designed to address frequently asked questions.

Think of it as sprinkling live and pre-produced video into an existing communications experience where other software applications – such as popular social media applications – also can be used to enhance the value of the video-enriched communications experience even further.

By now, the picture being painted should be looking pretty familiar to any self-respecting lover of technology industry buzzwords. While this vision represents the promise that “Rich Media” heralded years ago, most industry watchers today would associate the vision of a software-enriched video exchange as a fresh example of the promise of “Unified Communications (News - Alert).”

Indeed, buzzwords may come and go. “Rich Media” gives way to “Unified Communications”. But, either way, the message is the same. Video and software are merging together right before our eyes to create new market opportunities. Whatever jargon you want to apply to this trend is really not important. Whatever we decide to call this at the end of the day, the impact of this change will be huge.

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