Past ---> Future. The convergence of media.

 

It's not very hard to understand the media convergence. If you not very sure, you can try to check out the picture above. Still remember when you used cable telephone at the past old days and now how long that you willing to put down your phone and leave it without you? Well, I guess you have the answer.

Now in this digital era, telephone maybe just used in the office. Nowadays, what people are prefer having a smart phone. I think this is because it makes you feel smart cause it really sounded quite smart, isn't? What can I said is that the purpose of using the phone. Life that we live at the past is different with what happen in our life now. Our lifestyle had changed now as the advanced of the technology nowadays had make our life more easier. 

Let's define media convergence again. According to Distinct Studio Blogs, media convergence is the merging of mass communication outlet. It allows the media professional to tell stories and present information and entertainment using variety of media. Media convergence not only provide a new way for media professional as well as consumer because they can choose the level of the interactivity while self-directing the media content delivery.  


Newspaper, the fundamental materials that had stayed in our routine life for a long time had a significantly changes. It had shift from the paper to the Internet. B & W to colorful. Flipping to clicking. It may sound so ridiculous that paper newspaper may be a history in the human life, but it happened unintentionally because everyone are shifting to the Internet. Even though you want to read a book, e-book may be your choice but the real book. 


Compare to the old days, the users now can be said have more freedom in choosing what content they want to be perceived. Even more, the users can produce their content and upload to the media platform. Have you faced when you can't watch the hit movies such as Harry Potter because there were so many peoples book it and there were no tickets left? Don't worry, you can go online and download it. Isn't amazing? We are no longer to wait for the contents to come to us, but rather we go find what content we want. The terms for this types of users we called it "Prosumer" which is we are the consumer, participant, collaborator, producer and also the users of the media.

"Convergence refer to a process, but not an endpoint." ---Henry.J 2004.As the technology are keep improving, media are everywhere now. With the Internet access, we can go everywhere we want just using a smart phone. 

Just a phone with all the apps that can helps you in everything! 

  

Don't panic if you are forgetting your anniversary, flowers, lost on track, or even how to create a romantic environment...just browse through the smart phone and it will take care of you! Smart phones now had evolved to a mini compass, entertainment, business,videos, photograph...Everything you want is all at here! It's all in one! 

Jenkins had pointed out that this media convergence culture will be uneven or imbalance in the culture as someone had the wealth and times to learn the new things. It's like the comparison between the youngster generations and the older generations. 

Blog is the example that derive from the media convergence. It can helps on sharing, discussion, get the latest news with the unfiltered content with the insertion of the pictures and videos.Below are the example of the blog website which is blogger, Tumblr and Wordpress.

What we can see that is we are no longer write diary on the books but rather share our daily routine life in the blog. The old media delivery had been replaced. For examples, floppy disk, cassette tape,vinyl. We can see that they are no long exist in our life anymore. 

What I think about the media convergence had been widely use and disseminate so fast is because the human demands are exceeding what they can afford. Peoples are taking advantage of the convenience that the advance technology or software can bring to them. They use the application to fulfill their desire. 

The convergence also had created risk to the creative industry. The term cultural industries refers to industries which combine the creation,production and commercialization of creative contents which are intangible and cultural in nature.The risk is that the new media have to rethink the old media consumption. What is the consumption of the old media before they shift to the new media delivery? 

In the journal title of "The Cultural Logic of Media convergence" by Jenkins.H had discussed about 9 points of negotiations between the producers and the consumers which are: 

Revising Audience's measurement

This had to see how the people view the content and media and how they willing connect the media content with themselves. For example, fans had become a trend of the idol they like it and the author had wonder will the fans communities become the new audience measurement? Because this will cause the other community being marginalized. 

Regulating Media Content

Content always had been the controversy issues that raised among the parents and the media. When the media try to applied the concept of self-regulate, they also want to broaden the content into diversity which is appropriate for every member in the family.But sometimes, it just can't be accepted. And would the content being restricted next time they want to try the other ways to broaden their content?

Redesigning the digital economy 

No doubt that when you want to publish a book, internet is your choice because of the low production cost. People who are interested can just use the subscription to read through the books they want. Same to the music, you can choose to listen the music from the iTunes and subscribe it.

Restricting media ownership

FCC (Federal Communication Commission) had come out with the law of the restricting the media ownership among the media company. This had make a worried of the future of media consolidation among the media industry such as Sony company had not only owns film studios but also music recording as well as electronic goods. 

Rethinking media aesthetics

  

When study the impact of the economics that had brought by the media convergence, we also have to look into the perspective of aesthetics. Take an example, Harry Potter had been transform from books to the movies. Same goes to Twilight. This had been a trend among the media as they will use the same materials but slightly different and make a new version of it. Will this practice make more diversity of culture or just the copy machine? 

Redefining Intellectual Property Rights 

Arts are belong to everyone. Everyone have to right to participants in producing the arts. But what happen is that when the arts had been controls by the government, religions community or even media company, will the arts still have the freedom to be participated by everyone? 

Renegotiating Relations Between Producers and Consumers

The authors had explained the two examples which are the recording industry and game industry. In the recording industry, the media company had choose to take legal actions to the  emergence of peer-to-peer technology rather than comes out with the new plans and also rebuilding the relationship with the consumer. Compare to recording industry, games industry had take other route which they will takes some opinions from the fans community rather than shutting down just because there are so many illegal games. They may always reconstruct the content of the games which may differ with the other games. 

Remapping Globalization 

What comes to your mind when you are given the word "Globalization"? Is it the Western culture comes to your mind? Well, many previous academic research had always start with that points. Western culture to the global market. Western country is monopoly the market. But have you wonder where is the place that Super Mario born? The answer is Japan. When is first KungFu showed come from? Bruce Lee or maybe Jackie Chan. They are all from Asian countries. Recently, they was a new trend which is the Korean wave, also known as K-Pop. It's not only created a fashion in Asian, but also to the Western country. But have you even wonder how long will this trend to sustain with the support of the fans and also the immigrant communities? 

Re-engaging Citizens

Citizens may be portrayed as a passive, incoherent, and disengaged among the media. For re-engaging citizens, they are engaging in political field. When the artists or media company had portrayed some sensitive contents in their opinions, their reputation may just dropped with the sales or even the names.

At the end, media convergence are more like the combination of all the information that we wanted but is with the new platform. What we can do is try to expand and discovers more things that we interested. To make the diversity of culture with the economics impact to the society. 

Based on the reading of Henry Jenkins: "The Cultural Logic of Media Convergence".

  

Thank you for reading & wish you have a good day!