Convergence, Media and Society
It is true that convergences have changed the way society consumes media. Technology has force media to adapt to the way society lives and vice versa. Society evolves through technology and technology evolves through society. In the reading, Introduction: “Worship at the alter of convergence” by H. Jenkins, he talked about the convergence process and the way media & technology in our society has been transformed. Different kinds of media will converge or be combined into another single form of media.
I agree with Jenkins idea that, “When people take media into their own hands, the results can be wonderfully creative; they can also be bad news for all involved” (Introduction, 2006, p 17). This is where convergence is related to mashup production. Like in my blog before, you can find a lot of creative mashup on YouTube. Taking two ideas and combining them into one. However, to make some of these mashups, creators may use copyrighted material which could result in punishments and fines.
He also says that, “Each old medium was forced to coexist with the emerging media” (Introduction, 2006, p 14). I agree that media has to find a way to coexist with new media. What if there was a press conference that Looking for Eggs.com can now be accessed through a mobile web program? Teenagers and young adults use Looking for Eggs.com for many reasons. The cell phone companies notice that teenagers have an interest in Looking for Eggs.com. So elevated sales, cell phone companies introduce a cell phone that has Internet capability to get on to Looking for Eggs. Cell phone companies know that there is a demand for the use of Looking for Eggs. They are forced supply an Internet ready cell phone to satisfy teenagers and young adults or loss sales because they won’t buy them. Combine the Internet ability and cell phone has prove to be a smart retail move.
”Convergence involves both a change in the way media is produced and a change in the way media is consumed” (Introduction, 2006, p 16).
An example is HDTV. ESPN is one of the networks who broadcast their programs in High Definition (HD). In order to see these programs in HD, you have to buy a HD television. (Which is too over priced?) Society has to keep up with new technology devices, or they will be left behind. My question is what will happen to those of us who buy these HDTVs? If convergence of media and technology holds to be true, then what will happen to HD technology in the future? Will it be replace by something else like Hologram Television? (Star Wars) Do I have to buy a new ZX300PX Hologram TV to watch their programs and destroy my old HDTV? I would have to change my TV just so I can watch Hologram programming.
It seems like technology will never stop advancing and society is never satisfied with what advances they have.
You raise a very good point, Baharriat. There’s a lot to be said on the topic of the legality of convergence, and the role that intellectual property rights plays in the realm of artistic expression.
I think I might just have to blog about that concern, because it’s something that strikes home for me.
[...] trackback We’ve been looking at mashups and convergence this week in ICM501, and Baharriat brought up an excellent point about the legality of shanghai-ing the original material for use within the [...]
Tension Between Artistic Innovation and Intellectual Property Rights « Graduate Interactive Communications said this on September 19, 2007 at 8:11 pm
very interesting. i’m adding in RSS Reader