Montréal Tech Watch

Second, the forecasts are lovely. The Kelsey Group, a respected research firm on the directories and local ad market, predicts global revenue for local search and online directories will grow to $15 billion U.S. by 2012 from $6 billion U.S. today.

The audience numbers seem to justify it. Canpages.ca, for example, has seen its traffic grow to 3 million viewers from 30,000 in one year.

Convergence has been a long-cherished dream in the media business.

It’s about bringing together different technologies - print, broadcasting, the Internet and wireless - to deliver content and advertising to audiences.

Convergence was the inspiration for Montreal-based BCE Inc.’s acquisition of such media properties as the Globe and Mail and CTV.

It was also behind AOL’s blockbuster takeover of Time Warner in the U.S.

But making the dream a reality has been tough and many convergence-inspired deals have failed to pay off in profits.

It struck me that what we were all watching last night was the return of leadership. I’ve felt for some time that leadership has become less important in society, especially for younger people. Disenchantment with mainstream media coupled with the repeated failure of some of our most important institutions and a culture that focuses on the self (and money) rather than the community have all conspired to make leadership and its ideals less and less relevant for all of us.

Yet, the reflex for people to lead or follow is a basic human trait. There is no avoiding being or following a leader. So, I would say that for some time there has been a void in our society. We all crave and need leadership. Its baked into our DNA.