Assignment:
1. Explain media convergence
2. Explain how the convergence affected the
media.
Media Convergence
Introduction
For communication
scholars, convergence is a fairly elastic term that has come to mean
different things depending on time, application, and context. There are a
number of driving forces that focus public attention on the issue, including
the digitalization of media and information technology, worldwide deregulation
trends, changes in technology (most notably the Internet), merger and
acquisition activities, and the search for new market. While the term convergence
may be elastic, it shoulders an important responsibility in helping to explain
the ramifications of technologies and business enterprises that are linked
together. Media convergence is the merging (or joining together) of previously
distinct media to create entirely new forms of communication expression.
Convergence is at the heart of today’s digital media revolution and includes
such technologies and software applications as the Internet and electronic
commerce, smartphone technology, digital-film animation, DVD (digital video
disc) music and high-definition television (HDTV), and videogame systems to name
only a few. Over time, convergence has become a fairly elastic term that
has come to mean different things depending on time, application, and context.
For communication scholars, there are a number of driving forces that focus
public attention on the issue, including the digitalization of media and
information technology, media merger and acquisition activities, changes in
technology (most notably the Internet), the repurposing of old media into new
media formats, and the growing importance of social networking and virtual
communities. Numerous books, chapters, and articles have been written on the
topic of media convergence. They vary in size and quality from the scholarly to
the popular press. As Mike Wirth points out, “One of the challenges of studying
media convergence is that the concept is so broad that it has multiple
meanings.” (See Wirth 2006, p. 445, cited
under Technology and
Economic Performance).
More so, because the term is implied in a number of related terms and ideas,
including: digital media, cross-media ownership, transnational media, and
broadband communication. Central to any discussion on media convergence is the
term digital media itself, because it provides the context and example
through which media convergence occurs. In general, media convergence falls
into four general categories that will be covered in this bibliography: Introductory Works, Business Enterprise
Convergence,
Technology and
Economic Performance,
and Culture and Social
Commentary.
Definition of Media Convergence
Convergence
is the process where several media channels come together to exists and operate
in synergy or rather in harmony. A convergence is basically seen in every
person's cell phone, glance down at your palm and there sits a device that can
click a photograph, edit and modify the same and also send it like a mail. Some
people like to define convergence simply by stating it to be a merger of mass
media and communication outlets. In some cases multi-utility of the same gadget
or some media was also attributed to be a convergence. There are countless
examples that can be found and with the advancement of time and technology
manufacturers of technology are engaged in a race to manufacture devices that
have a maximum number of media converged within them.
Three media channels are currently the focal point of the media convergence journey. First, the print media that has started laying a certain emphasis on the Internet-based outlets, the slowly depleting line in between the television and the computer and the slowly reducing line in between the computers and the cell phones. Some decades from henceforth, we might be walking with gadgets in our hands that are fast and intelligent than the super computers, have better connectivity than the cell phones and can be used as televisions and newspapers. Well, fact is technology is acting as a super catalyst in the convergence race.
Media Convergence and Society
There are a
considerable number of effects of convergence on society. Media convergence is
something that impacts us all down to our every day life and such has become
the way of life that society adapts and changes accordingly. Fact is,
convergence of media indeed effects us in everyday life. First we started only
with written letter, then we proceeded to the ones that were typed on a
typewriter, followed by the Fax and email, to the point where we now send a
video or voice mail. Now, the pinnacle of convergence would be where an
illuminated graphical figure would pop out of our gadgets to deliver a mail,
orally, or graphically.
It goes without saying that media convergence is a speedy process affecting our careers too. It is getting more and more competitive out there as one needs to start learning the converged technology as soon as it appears. Not only this but entire offices and distances in two places have shrunk. Papers are slowly disappearing from officers and certain slow working tools such as pens and typewriters are also disappearing. An apt example is that of the people who are in media jobs, as convergence demands versatility in jobs of the media personnel.
Read more at Buzzle: http://www.buzzle.com/articles/what-is-media-convergence.html
It is important here to consider the fact that much
difficulty and disagreement had arisen in defining the notion of media
convergence. Most theorists agree that in general terms convergence means
‘coming together of two or more things’, however a variety of different
arguments have been put forward in an attempt to define what exactly is coming
together (Grant and Wilkinson, 2009). On the one hand, convergence can be
viewed as ‘coming together of different equipment and tools for producing and
distributing news’ (ibid.). Jenkins (2006:3), on the other hand, defines
convergence as ‘flow of content across multiple media platforms’, suggesting
that media audiences nowadays play a crucial role in creating and distributing
content, and convergence therefore has to be examined in terms of social, as
well as technological changes within the society. According to Jenkins, media
convergence is an ongoing process that should not be viewed as a displacement
of the old media, but rather as interaction between different media forms and
platforms (Jenkins, 2006). Supporting this argument, Deuze cited in Erdal
(2011) suggests that media convergence should be viewed as ‘cooperation and
collaboration’ between previously unconnected media forms and platforms.
Burnett and Marshall cited in Grant and Wilkinson (2008:5) explain
convergence as ‘blending of the media, telecommunications and computer
industries’ or, in other words, as the process of blurring the boundaries
between different media platforms and uniting them into one digital form.
One question that needs to be asked, however, is
whether or not these recent developments are beneficial for the society and the
industry itself. In other words, whether or not media convergence presents more
opportunities than challenges to both media producers and consumers. One of the
areas of particular concern when examining positive and negative consequences
of media convergence is media ownership (Jenkins, 2006). Nowadays the power to
control media industry is concentrated in the hands of private owners and
relatively small number of big media corporations. For example, companies, such
as Warner Bros., which used to focus on the film industry, nowadays have
control over various aspects of entertainment industry in general, such as
computer games, books, magazines, web sites and toys, which is all part of the
process of media convergence (Jenkins, 2006). Consequences of this trend can
be viewed as both positive and negative. On the one hand, it may cause the
decline in the diversity of material offered and result in a tendency that
voices of those lacking economic power will not be taken into account (Branston
et al., 2008:179). On the other hand, it is argued that market driven media
owned and controlled by big media corporations ‘can actually improve the value
of the service, the flexibility of topics and the competence of the
contributers’ as well as enable technological developments, change the elitism
of media professionals and create new general awareness (Grant, 2009). Another
aspect of media convergence that can be seen as its major drawback is what
Jenkins (2006:23) calls the ‘participation gap’. This concept refers to the
fact that while media convergence in general has encouraged audiences to
participate in the process of content creation, it requires extended access to
modern technologies, familiarity with the new forms of media, as well as
developing certain skills (ibid.). As a result, certain segments of the
audience arguably remain neglected and unable to fully participate in the new
media culture.
Drawing on the definitions of media convergence
outlined above, it can be argued that one of the ways of understanding media
convergence is in terms of interaction between old and new forms of media. This
concept can be explained more clearly using the example of television industry
and its development over the years. The idea of transition from analogue media
to digital media stands at the core of media convergence debate. The term
‘analogue’ is used to describe something ‘that resembles something else’
(Dewdney and Ride, 2006:227), therefore signals transmitted through television
can be seen as being analogous to the light and sound of the actual scene
(ibid.). In the case of analogue media, each form was separate and independent
from the others due to the need to use different ‘materials, properties and
apparatuses’ (ibid.). With the introduction of digital code however the
situation changed rapidly and opened new possibilities for media creation and
convergence, for example, new forms of interaction between producers and
consumers
A Brief History of
Media Convergence
History is
littered with examples of convergence for convenience. It’s what we do, right?
We take two or more things, duct tape ‘em together, and (theoretically) make a
better, more versatile thing as a result. I don’t think it’s too crazy to say
that our tolerance for single-function tools is bookended by all the
combo-inventions in our past, from the spork to the clock radio – and that
tolerance is shrinking as the pace of technological progress has quickened.
Nowhere is this more evident than with our media and
methods of communication, which are converging in geometrically accelerating
cycles. A quick review of history shows us a pattern of each advance serving as
an integral steppingstone to the birth of the next generation of communication
tools. Allow me to elaborate:
First Cycle
- The
printed newspaper, invented 1436
- The
‘Silent Pictures,’ invented 1888
- Radio,
invented 1896
Second Cycle
- Telephone,
invented 1876
- Radio,
invented 1896
- Silicon
Chip, invented 1958
Third Cycle
- Cellphone,
invented 1973
- Digital
Camera, invented 1981
- PDA,
invented 1983
- The
Internet, invented 1983
Can you see where this is going yet? Well, hold on to
your propeller hats, this is where it gets interesting.
It was in the late ’90s that the Internet really began
to serve as a major communications vehicle, enabling people to share ideas and
collaborate in ways that only spurred on these cycles of innovation and
convergence:
Fourth Cycle
- IM,
invented mid-1960s
- Email,
invented 1965
- Search
engines, invented 1991
- Blogs,
invented 1994
- Web-based
Forums, invented 1996
- RSS,
invented 2002
Which brings us to today. Within a month or so, Google
is poised to release what many are calling the next iteration of communications
technology, named Google Wave. Concise definitions of what it actually
is are hard to
come by, which makes sense, because I think it’s basically the culmination of 573
years of media convergence (there, was that concise enough for you?):
Fifth Cycle
- IM,
invented mid-1960s
- Web-based
Email, invented 1995
- Wikis,
invented 1995
- Facebook,
invented 2004
- Twitter,
invented 2006
2.
Explain how the convergence affected the media
EFFECT OF CONVERGENCE ON THE MEDIA
A comprehensive
social media strategy enables customers, as well as employees, to interact with
each other using Web 2.0 tools, integrated with internal and external portals.
Several of the tools available in the market have matured exponentially in
terms of their architecture, security and "enterprise friendliness,"
making them easy to integrate with existing enterprise applications.
With the introduction of advanced
smartphones, e-readers and tablets, it's hardly surprising that consumption of
online content has grown exponentially. This has caused turmoil within the
media industry. Traditional advertising revenues are declining as new marketing
options are emerging. Print media and newspaper subscriber bases and readership
are eroding, while the competition for online viewership is increasing. The
need for adoption of social media and delivery to multiple mobile devices is
increasingly becoming essential for retaining and attracting new customers.
In
this rapidly changing environment, media organizations are being forced to
reevaluate their strategies for media convergence. Companies are taking a
holistic approach to branding and delivering content to various platforms such
as televisions, Internet, mobile devices, social media sites, print and other
channels.
Managing
and reusing content has become essential for making the user experience
consistent and seamless. For example, content that is being displayed on the
television channels need to be simultaneously transmitted on websites.
Conversely, user-generated content on social media sites should be displayed on
television channels. This mishmash of different types of content and different
types of delivery channels has caused many interdependencies and integration
challenges for media organizations.
For
successful engagement with the audience, it is imperative that different
components of business applications are integrated across media channels to
have a complete convergence experience. At the same time, organizations need to
take into consideration the impact of handling multiple content formats into
their information architecture. While business needs are changing quite
rapidly, it is imperative that the supporting information architecture is
designed with flexibility and some degree of future proof-ability to minimize
total cost of ownership of such convergence applications.
Multichannel
Publishing
Since media
organizations need to maintain multiple channels, the content that gets
published across these channels should be consistent and be managed together.
The Enterprise Content Management system (including video and rich media
management) needs to be robust and scalable to effectively support the
publication of content across multiple channels -- including on the mobile Web,
on different mobile applications such as iPhone apps, Android apps, etc., and
on print channels, as well as integrate with third-party video feed and video
distribution services.
This
ensures that the content is managed in a single repository, while getting
published across multiple channels. Organizations are strongly advised to
consider several technical solutions available in the market that enables them
to abstract the technical challenges (e.g. browser properties, rendering, etc.)
of publishing content to diverse devices.
Search Engine
Optimization
Search engine
optimization plays a major role in driving traffic to the website. The site
should be optimized not only for its own content, but also for the content
published on various other channels.
Tools
that can monitor the websites to track various SEO aspects, such as broken
links, keywords, metadata information, etc., can play an important role in
improving the site results.
As
mobile Web portals gain more prominence, SEO for mobile portals will gain
importance.
Social
Media
Integration
of social media tools within media portals can not only improve stickiness to
the site, but also help increase readership.
A
comprehensive social media strategy enables customers, as well as employees, to
interact with each other using Web 2.0 tools, integrated with internal and
external portals.
Several
of the tools available in the market have matured exponentially in terms of
their architecture, security and "enterprise friendliness," making it
easy to integrate with existing enterprise applications.
Globalization and
Localization
Web portals should
enable users to view local content that is being shared across various
channels. For example, a French ad/video on television needs to be
appropriately displayed on the "France" country website -- not an
English version.
Making
sure that the search engines provide support for multiple languages is also
key. At times, organizations may want to enable search of documents/Web pages
in other languages, too. Make sure that translation architecture, defined for
the global website, supports that.
This
in-depth localization of portals through integration with relevant
country-specific media servers ensures that content is customized to local
users, thereby improving viewership.
As
suggested earlier, it is extremely important to take into consideration the
need to support multiple global languages in the information architecture so
that future changes will not necessitate massive rewrites, which usually means
higher costs.
Advanced Analytics
Media convergence
requires tracking advanced analytics. Tracking campaigns that are spread across
multiple channels is an essential part of it.
For
example, tracking the site visits or site activity based on video displayed on
television and correspondingly broadcasting relevant information on TV or on
social media are use cases that are possible with the right media convergence
solution implementation.
As
media organizations look for ways to differentiate themselves, solutions like
these help them to provide innovative products and solutions to their
customers.
Video and Rich
Media Management
An integrated video
and rich media management is essential for media convergence. Integration with
third-party video servers, as well as live video feed integration with Web
portals, can provide multiple venues for customers to view the content.
Similarly,
ad server integration with multiple delivery channels may be required as
relevant advertisements are displayed to different users -- based on their
persona (on Web and mobile) and based on their location (on television).
The
site should be flexible to accommodate frequent modifications/updates to suit
the advertisers
Greater
Effectiveness, More Revenue
As these various
elements come together, convergence of media across various channels will
become very effective and seamless. By ensuring advertisements are consistent,
though in varied forms, organizations can increase their effectiveness, leading
to increased ad revenue.
Convergence
also helps better understand user base and capture trends that are currently
unavailable or not measurable. This can provide valuable insights into user
behavior and convert into new services, solutions and ideas.
Maintaining
a single repository of content also helps substantially reduce operational
costs, while improving viewership.
Media
organizations that adopt convergence as part of their future road map stand a
better chance of success than the ones that do not.
