Where are we headed?

We've talked about it before. The future of thinking is not outside the box; it's at the intersection. And at the intersection, convergence is boiling, popping, and splashing everywhere. It's where the future is going to be.  But in all reality that future is happening now.

So the question is: what is Convergence?

We define it as the intersection of two or more market trends (i.e social networks, crowdsourcing, sustainability) within the realms of business, culture and technology. 

Specific examples:

Eventful - (event planning + crowdsourcing)

iPhone - (cell phone + PDA + MP3 player + camera + computer)

Netflix - (video rental + social networks)

Ebay - (auctions + e-commerce)

PS3 (blu-ray player + game playing)

Busboys & Poets (restaurant + bookstore + theatre)

Greenfly (sustainability + design + product development)

InnoCentive (R&D + crowdsourcing)

This is just a brief sample of ideas that have begun to transform the marketplace. With future posts we'll discuss even further how Convergence will continue to be a landmark idea that shapes the face of the marketplace.

As business and organizations wrestle with the complexities of the market and launch ideas, initiatives and campaigns into the marketplace, are they positioning themselves correctly to see what it is that's exactly going on?  If not it would be wise that they figure it out quick. Irrelevancy is a name tag I bet few would care not to wear.