Media Convergence: A Cultural Phenomenon
COMM 10 Y3/ Activity #3
Questions:
- What constitutes a convergent media? How is it differentiated from traditional media? Would you consider convergent media under the categories of new media?
- How does convergent media empower individuals to assert themselves in the bigger society? Think of the metaphor of David and Goliath.
- Compare and contrast the evolution of communication from orality to literacy and the evolution of media from traditional media to convergent media. Reflecting on how these developments came about, what could be assumed (or predicted) for the future of media production and consumption, and/or mass media?
Answers:
A convergent media is a combination of two or more forms of media into a new form. With the emergence of new technology, it has been more convenient for people to use this new tech for more reasons other than their current one as compared to traditional media. In effect, this makes the medium being used a convergent one.
Perhaps convergent media can be considered as a new form of media. After all, due to its nature it can neither be classified as either of the media components it is made up of. Calling it one or the other form may be too limiting, and simply calling it media would be too general. This is why the term convergent media is being used today.
2.
Convergent media such as the internet allows the better dissemination of one’s speech. People can post about literally anything and receive feedback for their thoughts almost instantaneously. With this sort of power, it gives people the satisfaction of having as much influence as the big companies that control the pillars of traditional media such as radio and television. You see now people relying on small creators for their news, because these creators add an entertainment value unavailable in their media forms.
The metaphor of David and Goliath applied to this situation is comparing the small scale creator to large companies in terms of the amount of information they are now able to produce and the influence these creators have over other people. We might think that they would be unevenly matched due to the amount of resources and manpower belonging to the conglomerates and the limit of these factors among small scale creators. We would come to learn that consumers prefer something that they relate to; that the humanity of these independent creators is what endears the audience to them and grants them a level of influence the large companies wish they had. As a consequence, maybe we might find convergent media overtaking the traditional media moguls in our society today.
3.
We see that there is great similarity on the shift from traditional media to convergent media and the evolution of orality to literacy. For each new mode of communication, there comes a drastic shift towards that improvement, leaving the old method behind.
Perhaps this pattern will continue on with every new update to our means of communication. Despite the similarities, however, there are few key differences between the two, such as the fact that orality is wholly different from traditional media and convergent media since it doesn’t involve literacy at all.
In the future, new technologies will change the way we communicate because of its efficency, and just like the shifts from orality to literacy, it is highly likely that the same will happen to the convergent communication that we know of.
