What Is Digital Media Convergence

With the advent of information technology, the ways different aspects of life work and operate have changed a great deal. Media has always had a great influence in molding the culture of a society. There was a point of time when television and radio were invented and when computer was invented and there was little connection between the two. Time then travelled fast then through the age of cassettes, records, VCDs, DVDs, flash drive and then the internet. Media also started to go satellite on a massive scale and there came a point of time when media and digital communication systems became closely integrated with one another, opening the dimensions to digital media.

In “Worship At The Altar of Convergence”, Henry Jenkins discusses the concept of convergence, where both old and new media collide. Jenkins describes convergence as the flow of content between multiple media platforms, industries, and the migratory behaviour that is present throughout the media audience (2). He explains that convergence is a necessity because it describes technological, industrial, cultural and social changes that are present in our technological society. That being said, Jenkins analyzes the relation between media convergence, participatory culture, and collective intelligence.

Both have their respective advantages as well as disadvantages. But to neglect or ignore one for another would not be the ideal way because each form has its own significance. The books, for example, cannot be replaced by television, while the attraction of internet and web cannot fully overtake the charm of newspapers and magazines. Moreover people working in different media fields and their livelihoods would be affected if any media suffer a setback. But at the same time one must also be ready to accept the reality that with time it would become difficult for old media to survive in the new "digital" age. So, for its survival the old media must make use of new techniques and technologies to upgrade itself and also try to keep intact its genuineness which by no way is an easy task. But still we can try. The production of the e-books, e-newspaper and internet radio are some of the successful efforts to assimilate the old with the

The term media convergence with regards to technology is defined as a process of combining together the telecommunications and computers and turning them into one electronic or digital form. The media convergence has affected our everyday life as we know it in many ways, you can now watch television shows, listen to music and shop online using your computer all without leaving the privacy of your home. Using the computer you can also communicate using the email, or chat option on the

Media convergence is the merging of all the technology together. A merger of mass media. It affects us in many ways such as fax machines and e-mail. We as humans no longer have to hand write a letter any more when we have e-mail. We went from writing letters by hand to typing them on a type writer to writing an e-mail on computers to texting on phones. With the simple click of a button the letter is sent through millions of power lines to get to the person it is intended for. Media convergence is a link between old and new technologies. They come together to share the same tasks and resources.

I agree with Jenkins’s assertion that “when people take media into their own hands, the results can be wonderfully creative; they can also be bad news for all involved” (qtd. Maasik and Solomon 39). In fact, it can benefit human beings if it is used properly, and it can also be harmful to human beings if it is negatively exploited. To illustrate, one example regarding convergence culture and positive media usage is the invention of our current smart phones. Around 15 years ago, human beings were familiar with using their traditional cell phones, which only enabled people to call or text messages. Today, with the invention of smart phones, people can not only call or text messages but also take pictures, create video clips, make video calls,

In the contemporary times with the advent of the internet, the high technology mass media also known as new age media has come into

First, technological convergence deals with online communication networks and the usage of laptops, tablets, smartphones, etc. Secondly, economic convergence merges the internet and telecommunication companies with traditional media companies. Lastly, cultural convergence covers the globalization of media content. For example, when an American TV show is popular in other countries. The idea of convergence shows how the digital environment of computing, telecommunications, and media come

I concur to Jenkins claim, "When people take media into their own hands, the results can be wonderfully creative; they can also be bad news for all involved" (para. 39) . In my personal experience convergence culture can be a positive and a negative feature. Many people are not aware that they are constantly switching between old media and new media. For an example, people will be on their personal laptop surfing the web or doing some research while at the same time playing games in their phones. It naturally became a habit that we trained our brains to multitask between multiple devices. FaceBook has significantly changed the way we connect to one another, It has so many features such as, Facelist, Messenger and video blogs. It has enhanced

Beginning with an older view of convergence, as society started playing with this old yet unexplored idea, many wrestled with the vast unknown of what would be pushed on consumers. New media forecaster Gary Arlen made a statement about convergence in 2002, “As the processes and applications are honed, we'll see a recrudescence of convergence. In other words, convergence will finally be about getting it all together.” What Arlen saw was a media industry looking at a concept without directions how to use it. At that time, one and a half decades ago, Arlen foresaw a successful future for media convergence, but to get there he knew “marketing packages and technology rollouts are the necessary prelude to true convergence” (Arlen,

I thought Heidi A. Mckee had some really interesting material that I had not thought of before on the issue of ethical and legal issues surrounding the convergence of media. As media in today’s age is constantly changing, so in order to keep up with the ever-evolving media the ethical and legal laws must also evolve with it. Before reading this essay by Mckee, I did not know about the legal and ethical implications of media convergence. So in reading this it was very eye-opening to see all the issues associated media.

The rapid enhancement of technology in the contemporary society leads the phenomenon called ‘media convergence’. This is a process that developing the interactive communication constantly across multiple media platforms around the globe. Moreover, after human beings entered the twenty-first century, along with the development of digital and network technologies, media convergence patterns have become more mature on account of three major factors – technology, economic and market (Langtry, 2012). Moreover, the technical factor mainly refers to the digital and network technologies bring the interoperability, interchangeability and connectivity of media, so that the media convergence has become a possible and an inevitable. However, Media convergence is not only a simply technological shift but also “alters the relationships between the existing technologies, industries, markets, genres and audiences” (Jenkins, 2004, p.33). Indeed, media convergence is an accommodative process for the “existing media, communication industries and cultures to adapt with new technologies” (Dwyer, 2010, p.2). Along with the technological development, which is integrating the resources of different mediums, this operation of media convergence brings both changes and challenges in the media industry (Thomas, 2011). However, advertising industry is one of the sectors of communications and cultural industry that cannot avoid media convergence. This literature review paper will analyze

Different forms of media have been around for centuries. There have been drastic changes in the use of radio, television, computers, and more over the years. The developments have had significant influences on American culture. As the use of mass media continues to evolve, so will the way we interpret, view, and use them.

According to Jenkins ‘Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide’, It spectacles that the entertainment industry has taken the advantage of harnessing ‘New Media’ on traditional formats by focussing on the logistics and practices. This evidently helps to increase the popularity and the availability of audience participation through the use of updated technology. This is denoted through old technological formats via applying new interactive media to heighten the participation for numerous audiences. For instance, back in the day many industries i.e. entertainment had to depend on broadcasting and radio for the viewers to receive their audio or visual content. To do these industries had to send out signals globally through a large transmitter so that people can receive their content. Transmitting these signals

Media advancement can incorporate change in a few perspectives of the media scene – from the improvement of new media platforms, to new plans of action, to new ways of delivering media texts. There are numerous ways of conceptualizing what sorts of change media innovation involve.