Despite what the Australian government would have us believe it is the drive to access content subscriptions through the networked devices of the digital home, and not the PC (or the nations computer impoverished students) that is driving broadband adoption. As such, the C in ICT – Communications - as we have known it has been eroded to a utility function…

Green technology hype now allows us to happily classify it as such in the nature of the water and power industries. That makes dark-fibre a utility, wimax a utility and 3G a utility. Communication has become a ubiquitous application. Content is now king and how we access and use that content is defining the industry. But does replacing Communications with Content mean that we are still the ICT industry or will 2008 provide the industry a new naming challenge?

On top of the flood of digital entertainment and lifestyle devices entering the home, individuals are socially networked to their eyeballs, and organisations are embracing virtual reality and gaming technologies to manage their corporate information.

Therefore as an individual or as an information worker, whether at home or in the corporate environment, when it comes to technology I am now either informing myself or entertaining myself. And best-practice will dictate that future industry leading users (major corporations and governments), or suppliers of technology (technology and consumer electronics vendors) will ensure that their communities (staff, customers, suppliers and so on) are provided with the opportunities and tools to simultaneously achieve both.

Welcome to the year of informed entertainment. Welcome to the Information and Entertainment Technology (IET) Industry. We get the feeling it is going to be a great one.

Harvey