Explanation:
What is Media Convergence?
Britannica Encyclopaedia say’s, “Media Convergence is a phenomenon that involves the interlocking of computing and information technology companies, telecommunication networks and content providers from the various media platforms like magazines, newspapers, radio, television, films and the likes. It also says that Media Convergence is the confluence of the 3 C’s – Communication, Content and Computing”.
According to Henry Jenkins who is a highly respected media analyst and one of the foremost leading experts on the convergence culture paradigm, as well as, the DeFlorz Professor of Humanities and the Founder and Director of the Comparative Media Studies Program at MIT states that, “the flow of content across multiple media platforms, the cooperation between multiple media industries, and the migratory behaviour of media audiences is what constitutes media convergence”. It is not just the confluence of the traditional and the new digital media but it is also about the unpredictable ways of interaction and association of the consumers and producers of media. It is not solely technological but there is a huge gamut of socio- cultural paradigm shifts that have changed the way the consumer evaluates a product, makes his decision and his social interactions to seek information. It also includes the experience that the producer of the media makes the consumer go through (Viau, 2001).
The world is witnessing the new forms of media in which they have a larger control over the types of feeds they receive, the ease with which they can interact with not just the media but with the media provider as well. This has brought a whole new dimension of competition to the traditional media platforms. This has also led to a lack of dependence of the consumers on any particular media which in turn translates to lesser loyalty.
Benefits of Media Convergence:
The content creators can use the platform to generate customized content that is targeted at a specific group.
This has also brought about a change in the dynamics of economy as distribution and cost structure is not the same in traditional media.
It has brought about a sense of Post Modernism to the field of media consumption where the consumer is not an audience but is also a co creator.
This has also brought about a change in the experience that a person goes through by consuming media. It has transcended the limitations of the traditional media.
Negatives of Media Convergence:
This has brought in a certain amount of unpredictability in the responses that a media would receive. With the audience being exposed to a plethora of media platforms it gets tough to understand what has had what kind of effect on the consumer.
Media Convergence has brought about a shift in the control that the content creator had over it’s property. With the advent of blogs, mobiles and emails the consumers are exposed to large amount of unbranded content. This has led to an increase in the competition for consumer’s time and attention that the content creators face
