Digital
Media, Media Convergence, and Convergence: What Does It All Mean?
Digital Media, Media
Convergence, Digital Technologies...the terms all sound so much alike. What does it all mean when we talk about
media convergence? Should we be concerned about where we are going as it
relates to convergence? How does it all
work together or does it? As I continued
to read about the subject at hand, it appears to me that convergence has many
moving components and over the years the use of media and how we access it has
changed dramatically.
Convergence, convergence
and convergence, but what the heck are you talking about? There are still many
individuals that have difficulties understanding what convergence really is, (I
may be one of those people but here goes a shot anyway). According to the Merriam Webster online
dictionary, the word “convergence” refers to “the merging of distinct
technologies, industries, or devices into a unified whole.” Simply put it is a merger of mass media and communication
outlets. From the printing press,
periodicals, newsletter, radio, television, telephones, and the internet and
now there are several new media components working together in this journey of
convergence.
You know the industry has
changed a bit when the daily news hits the blogs and on sites of most major
news outlets in America. Blogs which were formerly viewed primarily as a way
for amateurs and rumormongers to express their opinions, have come into their
own as a very integral piece of the modern journalistic community. The blogging trend is gaining steam among
small and mid-sized markets, which is where I think most media professionals
get their feet wet. “It’s not enough just to write anymore. You have to be
blogging and have your face on the Internet. It’s less about how many words and
more about graphics, visuals and what you can do to keep eyes on the page.” The emerging technology has a ripple effect
of other considerations for modern-day media professionals. Technology is definitely
changing the face of media and shaking things up like we have never seen before.
In my opinion, media
convergence offers many benefits. By
offering single devices that allow access to different media. Through allowing one gadget for emails, watching
TV, buying stock, editing photos, scanning documents, listening to music and
surfing the internet to name a few. Instead
of CDs, DVDs and cable TV, the Internet and the home computers are becoming the
music source to stereo systems and the video source to TVs. The smartphone wraps Internet search and Web
browsing, music and movies, camera, camcorder and photo album, voice recorder,
game machine, GPS and mini versions of nearly every software program imaginable
into one device that everyone has with them all the time. The smartphone is the
ultimate convergence and what some may think is the personal computer of the
21st century.
Advantages
and Disadvantages of Delivery:
There are many different
ways we get our media delivered to us; internet, newspaper, radio, and television.
These days the one that seems to be the
most popular with the millennial generation is the internet. The internet has
its many advantages but also has those few disadvantages that are mainly associated
with the older generations (The silent generation and the baby Boomers
generation). The advantages include receiving information quicker, increased
communication, networking, and the spread of information. The internet also has
its disadvantages which include; the cost, its negative influence on people
(mainly children), the internet makes it harder for us to sort out truth from
lies, and the fact that the older generations cannot navigate the internet as
well as younger generations makes it hard for them to get information any
quicker.
With the newspapers there
are not as many advantages or disadvantages. Included in the advantages are; it
is very traditional meaning the older generations tend to stick with this form
of media delivery, it is a convenient way to see what is going on locally
without having to search, and it is great advertising for local businesses and
for people looking for jobs locally. Among the disadvantages there is the fact
that people cannot access new information around the clock like the internet,
when there are misprints there is no way to go back and fix it, other than
reprints which could lead to controversies ( just like any other form of
media).
The radio can work well
for people getting their news on the go and it is still the way many older
people get their news. I would say that radio is the least effective and
popular form of media because it has no images.
In the days of the first
computers, the only information digitized was business records. Then came text
and word processing, followed by audio and finally video. Having all forms of
information in the digital domain made convergence inevitable. In the past,
data used to travel over voice networks. Today, voice commonly travels over data
networks. Honestly speaking, I never really gave much thought about how we
receive the information we do but this course has given me something to think
about. I just always took it for granted
that it, the information, would just be there when I needed to access it.
As consumers demand more
and more convergence, the technology market, I think, is responding
appropriately. Consumers want products
that are powerful, vast and versatile, and the market can expect more of this
kind of thinking to come in the future.
Hello Shearse,
ReplyDeleteI found your blog both interesting and informative. You are not alone in your quest to understand some of the “tech talk”. Much confusion has been had over some of the technical terminology that’s being tossed around. As Peter Hirshberg put it in our TED Talk video, “The web is more than” better TV”, “tech folks talk different”. This is indeed, in my opinion, a simple but loaded statement. The words that they use to describe the functions of the new computer age can be as difficult to understand as the computers themselves. Convergence, merging, emerging, as well as a host of other bits of terminology can give one pause. I, like you, have never put too much thought into what makes all of these systems function and communicate. When I push a button, these systems are supposed to operate. I don’t bother with the how, it’s just that I paid for a service and I want it to do what they said it is supposed to do. Hirshberg went on to even explain that at some points and time, tech items were created and the terminology for it was developed later, well there’s no wonder that the general population can take a minute to catch up. There have been so many advances from one medium to another that it can be a bit overwhelming at times to keep up with it all. Learning new words and systems as well as giving new meaning to old terms are the foundation upon which the layers of society and language are framed. Something as simple as “I will contact you later “ could mean anything from e-mail, Facebook or twitter right down to skype or interfacing via the cell. The merging of mass media may have some kinks here and there sometimes across smooth operating systems but I believe the advantages that we have come to enjoy and depend upon, far outweigh the “hiccups”. Thank you for sharing and helping to demystify some of the media ruckus. There are so many people in the same boat and as you stated just want to know “what the heck are you talking about”!