Convergence

A new study period for OUA has kicked off and again I am in the thick of it. This time round it's Web207 Web Media with a particular focus on media convergence. Wikipedia defines media convergence not only as a technological change, but a shift in industrial, social and cultural paradigms as described by Henry Jenkins in his book "Convergence culture: Where old and new media collide;

"the flow of content across multiple media platforms, the cooperation between multiple media industries, and the migratory behavior of media audiences."

For me one of the best examples of media convergence over the last 10 years has been that of the evolution of the mobile phone. Once a device for making calls and sending messages, the phone has seen the inclusion of cameras, media players, satellite tracking and web browsing. At each stage we have seen both industry and society change and shift as devices have become capable of replacing individual devices with one converged media device.

Now with the advent of smartphones and their range of apps allowing us to do even more than we ever imagined,  we are again seeing a shift within industry and society as the portability of our phones converges with the power and usefulness of our home computers.

So where will this process of media convergence lead us, and what does it mean for the industries it impacts, are just a couple of questions I hope to find answers to over the coming weeks. In the mean time, if you have some thoughts or ideas on these questions then feel free to share them below.