CONVERGENCE OF DIGITAL MEDIA

QUESTION

MAS110: Week 2
This Lecture
 Today we’re going to discuss:
 Analogue versus Digital Media
 The Traditional Mediascape
 Digital Convergence
○ Technological Convergence
○ Industrial Convergence
○ Cultural Convergence
○ Social Convergence

Analogue Vs Digital
Data Degradation
 The more analogue data is copied the
more the data degrades due to errors
and interference e.g. a photocopy of a
photocopy

 Digital data can be copied infinitely
without degradation, e.g. a computer file
copied from one computer to another
Traditional Analogue Media
 Media forms bound to materiality
 Industry specialisation
 Localised distribution
 Uni-directionality

Media Materiality
 Most traditional media forms
were only accessible through a
particular physical format:
record, analogue tape,
newspaper, film strip, etc.
 Broadcast media (television and
radio) was either live or tied to a
physical format (e.g. tape)
Industry Specialisation
 The physical formats of different industries
were very different e.g. the process of
manufacture and duplication film celluloid is
very different to that of vinyl records
 Companies therefore tended to specialise in
particular media forms
 Content from different media forms could not
easily be combined
 Audiences needed different technologies
and skills to access different media forms
Localised Distribution
 Industries were about the production and distribution
of physical artefacts
 Production involved a high quality copy of an original
 Distribution involved the physical shipping of these copies
to customers or the localised broadcasting
 As long distance distribution was expensive, and
long distance broadcasting technologically difficult,
media industries focussed on localised markets
Uni-directional
 Duplication and distribution was expensive
and difficult therefore only large companies
could reach a mass audience
 Individuals at home could not easily
partake in the production and distribution of
media content
Digital Media
 Digital Media is not bound by materiality
 Has identical methods of distribution
regardless of content
 Can be transmitted globally
 Can be cheaply and easily altered allow
home users to produce and distribute
content
The Digital Revolution
 Digital media therefore has changed the all
aspects of media production
 The industry
 The consumer
 The content
 The economics
 The politics

The Digital Revolution?
 But digital technology itself did not come out of nowhere
 Digital technology was created (in part) because of the
problems analogue technology had
 The world had become more globalised, multination media
conglomerates wanted to consolidate their operations,
users/audiences wanted more control, everyone wanted
cheaper production and duplication
 As such digital technology was heavily invested in, and widely
researched, marketed, and adopted
Digital Convergence
 Digital convergence is the process by which media
forms, industries, cultures and practices of use have
merged.
 Media theorist Henry Jenkins sees it as the “flow of
content across multiple media platforms, the
cooperation between multiple media industries, and
the migratory behaviour of audiences” (Jenkins,
2006: 2)
Technological Convergence
 Technological convergence is the coming
together of formerly separate technologies
in one place, platform, or device
 E.g the iPhone
 Facebook
 Online Newspapers

Incorporation
 Older media forms are not necessarily
dying off they are being incorporated into
newer ones, or surviving as a niche market
 “Old media are not being displaced.
Rather, their functions and status are being
shifted by the introduction of new
technologies” (Jenkins, 2006: 14)
Industrial Convergence
 Media industries are no longer separate and isolated
 Media companies now produce, distribute and
combine multiple media formats
 Products span multiple media platforms: e.g.
Webisodes, mobisodes, televised sports apps, etc.

Cultural Convergence
 Cultural convergence is the breaking down,
or blurring of the lines between, different
cultural groups and formations:
 Local/foreign
 Public/private
 Societal elite/poor and disadvantaged
 Producer/consumer
Social Convergence
 The creation of new space where people can come
together (converge) and engage and socialise: e.g.
Facebook, Twitter, World of Warcraft
 These new space have their own etiquettes and
conventions
 This new convergence has its potential problems.
Are you friends with your parents on Facebook?
In Summary
 Digital convergence is the coming
together and combining of various
technological, industrial, cultural, and
social processes, artefacts, and practices.
 Digital convergence is one of the defining
trends of the modern media environment
 Media Centres
Examples
 Online Newspapers\

SOLUTION

Digital media Convergence is best described as a fruitful combination of television and computer, rather a combination of internet and mainstream media (Mariano, 2010). Digital Convergence comprises of industries or cultures or media forms and practices which can be used have emerged. Henry Jenkins considers it as method for flow of content using varied kinds of media platforms where the various media industries work in cooperation with the migratory nature and features of the final audiences (Jenkins, 2006). Digital media Convergence is mainly of four types like the Technological Convergence, Industrial Convergence, Social convergence and Cultural Convergence. Technological convergence is when different kinds of technologies which existed separately come together at one platform or place or in one device like Facebook, iPhone, or online Newspapers. Industrial Convergence occurs when media companies do the task of production, distribution and develop combinations of multiple media formats like Webisodes, televised sports Apps or mobisodes. Cultural Convergence occurs when the fine lines between various cultural groups or formations are broken down using media platforms like producer/ consumer or public/private etc. Social Convergence occurs when people from all across the globe can come together on one newly created platform for socialising and engaging in conversations like Facebook, Twitter etc. and follow certain etiquettes and conventions. To understand the concept better you can go through the attached link of Digital Convergence Video which clearly explains the basic concept of Digital Media Convergence (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5K2VWNdu9Uk, Combine/ Mix/ Blend/ merge?join—Mobile media/ Digital Convergence).

 

Source: https://encrypted-tbn2.google.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTWEdSKnOd9coa2-2_oE05YH_3paIyjOl0ECkVdysVdfhWRrioZ

 

Digital media Convergence is best described as a fruitful combination of television and computer, rather a combination of internet and mainstream media (Mariano, 2010). Digital Convergence comprises of industries or cultures or media forms and practices which can be used have emerged. Henry Jenkins considers it as method for flow of content using varied kinds of media platforms where the various media industries work in cooperation with the migratory nature and features of the final audiences (Jenkins, 2006). Digital media Convergence is mainly of four types like the Technological Convergence, Industrial Convergence, Social convergence and Cultural Convergence. Technological convergence is when different kinds of technologies which existed separately come together at one platform or place or in one device like Facebook, iPhone, or online Newspapers (Cheskin Research,2002). Industrial Convergence occurs when media companies do the task of production, distribution and develop combinations of multiple media formats like Webisodes, televised sports Apps or mobisodes. Cultural Convergence occurs when the fine lines between various cultural groups or formations are broken down using media platforms like producer/ consumer or public/private etc (Jenkins, H. 2006). Social Convergence occurs when people from all across the globe can come together on one newly created platform for socialising and engaging in conversations like Facebook, Twitter etc. and follow certain etiquettes and conventions. To understand the concept better you can go through the attached link of Digital Convergence Video which clearly explains the basic concept of Digital Media Convergence (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5K2VWNdu9Uk, Combine/ Mix/ Blend/ merge?join—Mobile media/ Digital Convergence).

 

The Department of Broadband, The Digital Economy and Communications is giving consistent updates on the development happening regarding media convergence using its Twitter accounts. The Media Access Australia opines that four broad and corresponding elements which  should provide access to  digital technology and access to online media using the accessibility to software, devices, media content and  infrastructure (Convergence REview:Media Access Australia, 2011).With the convergence of new media and advertising trends media economist and their critics along with the advertising practitioners have long created a differentiation between  various other forms of advertising an informational advertising which they referred to as creative techniques for persuading or just direct comparisons (Spurgeon, 2008). The most prominent and distinguished informational advertising digital media which came into being for informational advertising is internet search engine. Within a decade these search engines have captured the adverting market as globally prominent, newest and locally relevant advertising –funded new media service and institution (Battelle, 2005).

It has now become a trend in many countries that the expenditure on the radio, magazines, and cinema expenditure is being exceeded by the money spent on online media advertising which covers display advertising, classified advertising along with search advertising too ( Zenith Optimedia, 2006). At the same time the search-based advertising  done through social networks is also fast catching at very high speed ( eMarketer, 2007).Classified Advertising has received a new image which was a very important form of informational advertising with the help of search media and search culture. It has rapidly migrated from print to inline because the search-based publications give wider access to the end-users through online media(Rheingold, Howard ,2000). That is why the small-time advertisers are getting greater coverage using search culture whereas the bigger corporate advertisers are searching for the creative potential which exists in the networked devices and fast catching channels and very high bandwidths to reach their farfetched consumers. Branded content which creatively embeds their selective, messages in the media flows along with the experiences which their potential customers really seek is extending the creative advertising possibilities. This is also called the trend of ‘Madison and Vine’ which does have ‘Long Tail’. This long tail of highly networked new media markets is a major trend which is fast catching in informational advertising circles and has strong impact on commercial media too (Steve Kovach, 2010).

Yahoo was the earliest media company which booked huge profits in 1998 with a turnover of &US 245 million generated mainly from advertising (Yahoo, 2000).Yahoo had the look and feel of an internet portal just like AOL. But repositioning of Yahoo as media and Entertainment Company helped it to sail through the financial slump it faced in 2000. It turned again big profit margins using marketing service accounts which formed the major share in the earnings of Yahoo which covers keyword advertising. Google also uses the prominent technique of keyword auctioning where it sales the advertising space just adjacent to the search results to earn big profits and the advertisers have to bid for this space. The major shift in the pricing structure of  search advertising which shifted from the  page impressions to the actions clearly indicate that how radical is the role of search media in covering and making the gap narrow between the advertisers and  customers. That is why Sensis does not want to be as big as Yahoo or Google but it wants to position itself as a narrow funnel for searching so that whenever Australians do any kind of transaction they should use Sensis as their most preferred search engine. Another informational advertising trend which is fast catching is classified advertising along with online recruitment services which clearly indicates that how digital media is playing a vital role in bringing buyers and sellers together on one common platform.

Digital Media Convergence Photostory – YouTube: http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=9&ved=0CG0QtwIwCA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DQYQQoLD3QzM&ei=m0pzT8K7F9DPrQf508HuDQ&usg=AFQjCNG3Q54D74AeNOLFWkO1ZOHVGrDCMA&sig2=1DrKeJuVBHSmUNz8qgOi3w

 

Digital media Convergence is here but what after the convergence what will be the connection? The contemporary informational landscape has shown development both in the form of technological innovations as well as techno-cultural formations. But these innovations are also surrounded by several discourses like underscoring, their significance and overplaying with the fundamental novelty which exist within this convergence (Bassett, Hartmann and O’Riordan, 2008). We need to understand the significance of these fast happening digital convergence which are now embedded in our day-to-day lives. These changes include the wireless and wireless networks, highly growing market of embedded and persistent computing along with media ecologies which are simply screen-focussed. It has been witnessed that these innovations bring along changes in the political economy of the digital Information Systems as they bring about huge transformation in the emerging new media industries. Their significance in everyday life usage and relationship with the production culture in informational advertising cannot be ignored (Bassett, Hartmann and O’Riordan, 2008). It shows that Digital media convergence plays an active role in the form of search culture and renowned search engines like Google, yahoo and locally also they are trying to build a community platform in the form of Sensis. Search based advertising is growing fast and companies are spending more on digital advertising than on print media and that is why it is becoming an exciting and totally new format for brands across the globe to get in touch with their consumers, thus making people’s relationship with their brands a dialog with the help of Digital Media Convergence (Sheehan and Morrison, 2009).

Bibliography

Bassett,., Hartmann, M. and O’Riordan, K. (2008) ‘After convergence: what connects?’, The Fibreculture Journal, no. 13.

Convergence REview:Media Access Australia (2011), [Online], Available: http://www.mediaaccess.org.au/research-policy/inquiries-and-consultations/convergence-review [27 March 2012].

Cheskin Research. “Designing Digital Experiences for Youth”, Market Insights Series, Fall 2002 pp. 8–9

 

Jenkins, H. (2006) Convergence Culture: Chapter 2, New York University press.

jenkins, Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide, pg 2

Jenkins 2006, p101-112

Mariano, J. (2010) Digital Media Convergence is Here, 28 July, [Online], Available: http://www.e-geniuses.com/2010/digital-media-convergence/ [27 March 2012].

Rheingold, Howard (2000) Smart Mobs: the next social revolution, Perseus, Cambridge, Massachusetts, pp 157–82

Sheehan, K.B. and Morrison, D.K. (2009) ‘Beyondconvergence: Confluence culture and the role of the advertising agency in achanging world’, First Monday , 2 March.

Spurgeon, C. (2008) Advertising and New Media, Routledge.

Steve Kovach (December 8, 2010). “What Is A Smart TV?”. Businessinsider.com. Retrieved January 17, 2012.

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