Drugi jezik na kojem je dostupan ovaj članak: Bosnian
Visiting lecturer at Direct Media Academy (DMA), Bojan Leković, one of the most successful IT entrepreneurs in the region, the founder and CEO of the portal KupujemProdajem.com predicts how technology will continue to chart the path for the transformation of the media.
The founder of one of the most visited sites in Serbia and the biggest market of free online classified ads in Serbia, came from Holland where he lives for the last sixteen years, to teach the students of DM Academy about the enormous impact of IT on our lives, especially in the sphere of communication, which is a basic human need. Bojan spent ten years working for KPN – Royal Dutch Telecom, a company with a turnover of 13 billion euros. He participated in the development and launch of the first mobile internet service in Europe under the name of i-mode, and the first standard mobile service for TV transmission in Europe. During his career, he led a number of mobile phone innovation and research projects for KPN Mobile, and today works closely with many top experts from Asia and Europe, as well as with the largest companies dealing with advanced technology. Being himself an entrepreneur, his interests include the development of new companies, start-ups, product development, but also marketing and the internet.
Media Marketing: It’s clear that IT affects our lives. Are we fully aware of this influence?
Bojan Leković: Because of the speed at with all of this is happening, I think we are aware of these changes. You just have to think of things that were not there a few years ago, and how our lives looked then. Here is an extreme example: about a hundred years ago, only the incredibly wealthy Henry Ford was able to establish a personal newspaper company and a personal film studio for the purpose of his own communication. At that time, he was the only blogger and youtuber. Today, thanks to the amazing technological advances, we all have the opportunities that were then available only to the richest in the world – kings or emperors.
Media Marketing: Having in mind the influence of technology on communications, can we define a moment when communication became telecommunication?
Bojan Leković: Very long ago, during the time of the Roman Empire, when people used fire signals to signalize from remote outposts that the enemy is coming. These early telecommunications had the characteristics of today’s: they used a medium for communication (fire light) and a protocol (pre-agreed procedures when and how to use the fire lights). Technologically primitive, but essentially the same as today. Today we are on the threshold of the 5th generation of mobile telephony, which should enable very high speed flow of data on mobile devices, up to 10 Gbit/s and very low latency of only 1ms. This is important for the “mobile only” telecoms to be able to offer “cable services”, only through the air. The latter is essential for a whole new class of services, such as the “connected car”, with which vehicles will drive us around autonomously.
Media Marketing: We are witnessing changes in the media. Can we predict the future of traditional media (TV, Print) in the era of digital expansion?
Bojan Leković: Technological progress will enable us great changes. In the constant search for the ultimate experience, consumers will buy ever larger displays. TV screens will be very large, thin and flexible and at high resolution (8k, 16k). This will force telecom companies to provide more and more bandwidth. Print media will take on electronic forms / displays, which will provide superior experience of content, exactly like paper, but where content will be downloadable in real time, at the pace at which the editorial staff prepares it. The change of TV paradigm is already happening. People watch content online, movies from Netflix, they direct their own consumption. In addition, it is likely that in the near future TV will become an app, same as telephony has become an app, and through these apps many new content producers will have the opportunity to bypass the traditional broadcasters and providers of TV services, and thus offer their content directly to consumers. On the other side, print media will finally solve the problem of high costs related to printing and distribution of their publications. These costs will no longer exist.
Media Marketing: Apart from the sphere of communication, how does IT help in other ways?
Bojan Leković: In the business sphere, companies will be increasingly automated, in order to reduce the costs of their operations. Help in this sense will come from the services provided from the cloud (business applications in the data center instead of in your computer, used by many clients and not just one). In the customer sphere, platforms for sharing economy are being created, such as those for sale of things like KupujemProdajem.com, or for rental of properties like AirBnB. In this way, people trade with each other directly, with more efficient use of their goods, because they lend, sell or share their goods with others, and thus make life easier for themselves and others.