From Internet to Splinternet & how this challenges self-service
Firewalls and paid walls are springing up all over the web. Add to that a mish-mash of the technological and political and you could argue that there is a compelling inevitability to the splitting up of the Internet. 
The Economist Weekly has said “Powerful forces are threatening to balkanise the Internet,” and whilst you might say that this is overdoing it – we must not forget that big business is investing in Facebook and others in a bid to corral the most users.
There are many similarities in the retail high street sector where the small shops are challenged (and often beaten) by the broad brush pile-them high sell-them cheap superstores.
What does all this mean to kiosks?
The self-service space which includes kiosks, vending machines, ATM’s etc. is continuing to evolve to reflect ever-reduced cost of delivery and ever-increasing customer needs.
The Genkiosk team spend a lot of time with the VeoVend team (who focus on self-service in vending) precisely because there is a dovetailing between the two sector verticals. There are also plenty of vending machines that have screens and kiosks that vend (even if the “product” they vend is “information”; electronic, rather than concrete!
The challenge is to ensure your self-service offer is able to take advantage of opportunities and adapt as the market moves forward. It’s a great opportunity for the institutions that do it well and is the end of the road for ones that do not..