There are a lot of reasons for Google to buy Motorola. Access to hardware and patents seem to topping the list on blogs this morning. Most of those conversations are about Google protecting themselves from Apple and Microsoft as both of those companies focus on generating income through patent lawsuits. Google needs more ammunition in those fights. Despite the obvious legal stuff, the acquisition could have a major impact on transmedia production and social TV.
Google has been trying to become a content broadcaster for awhile. Its acquisition of YouTube was just the beginning. Owning Motorola gives them a hardware division that will let them create the same kind of ecosystem that has made Apple so successful. They will be able manage both content distribution and the platform for delivery. Content and apps in the iTunes store have made Apple’s mobile hardware strategy extremely successful.
Transmedia
Transmedia becomes relevant when you realize that Google has also bought Motorola’s Medios software along with the company. Medios was designed as a white label product that could allow content providers to integrate all the walled content related to a creative property into a multi-screen experience for an audience. It fully embraced the belief that TV was going to become an internet-delivered form of entertainment. Motorola’s design decision would allow creative properties to utilize any form of technology that was supported by the internet. Now Google has the ability to integrate distribution channels from the internet with apps, video, audio, interactive media and audience-created content. I realize that a collection of related media isn’t a transmedia experience, but what will it take to assemble those pieces into something that could be called a narrative? I’m sure someone at Google has thought about it but it is a complex problem. Breaking down walls between content is one challenge, giving that collection of media a meaning that resonates with an audience is just as big of a challenge. It will be exciting to see how that space begins to evolve.
Social TV
Google is also working on integrating your life through their new offering, Google+. They already own a lot of services, like Picasa, that are designed to integrate all aspects of personally created media in a single place and now you can share it with your “Circles”. Google’s integration into multi-screen hardware and software solutions are going to give them the opportunity to collect your favorite television shows, music, books and whatever else you enjoy into your social experience as well. Once you have your media integrated into a single vertical it isn’t difficult to envision how you’d be interacting with your friends on Google+ using your Google/ Motorola smartphone while you all watched the latest episode of your favourite television channel being broadcast by YouTube’s Professional Content channel on your smartTV.
The Future
It could be a really exciting time for the evolution of transmedia and social TV. A Google content channel that allows innovation from third party content providers would be ideal. It would provide the first real opportunity for content producers who get transmedia and social media to weave a narrative through all of those channels and give audiences a new kind of entertainment experience. It also wouldn’t hurt Google if audiences started finding the most meaningful and entertaining experiences using Google’s hardware and software. I’m sure someone at Google is already thinking about that too.
