I know, I know, your feeling the same I did a few weeks ago when I was asked what media convergence was, I had NO idea. Well, as Henry Jenkins put it nicely, it is:
‘The flow of content across multiple media platforms’
Pretty much, I see media convergence as multiple media types, like Facebook, coming together to form one on a different platform e.g. an iPhone. I’ll give you an example, on our iPhones, we are not only able to just make calls and texts, but are able to access any social media accounts, emails, hold video conferences etc.
This concept of media convergence has lead to the evolution of audiences, we have come a long way since decades ago with us slowly transforming from passive audiences to active audiences and consumers. Years ago, we were only considered the passive audience as other individuals or corporations e.g. film makers, journalists, created media content for us, compared to now where we can create it ourselves! Due to this evolution, larger corporations and businesses are slowly loosing control over what media is produced and what is released to other consumers and audiences.
For me, media convergence does affect me as I own multiple of these media convergence platforms, an android phone which I use for about most of my daily activities like messaging, photography, social media and also a Macbook Air which I use for for typing notes, emailing teachers, YouTube, Twitter, Moodle and socialising with friends.
I’ve decided to create some personal pro’s and con’s for media convergence in relation to my opinion on it:
PRO’S:
- I literally have most of the things I need to access in one device or platform
CON’S:
- easy access for others to violate my privacy and consent on social media
- if I loose one of these platforms, then I loose access to my different media types
So theres both advantages and disadvantages in terms of media convergence in my daily life, but it is mostly positive overall as it has lead to the rise of the audience and the development of our capabilities in terms of becoming producers and being able to content for ourselves and others.
Niles Marquez, 2012, Apple’s iPhone 5- Media Convergence at it’s finest, Storify, viewed 4th April 2016, <https://storify.com/nilesmarquez/apple-s-iphone-5-media-convergence-at-its-finest>
RedWing Social Media, RedWing Design, viewed 4th April 2016, <http://www.redwingdesign.net/social-media.html>
I'm Lauren 
I’m glad you didn’t understand what media convergence was either, it made me relate to your post a little better. the fact that you have added the evolution of media audiences into your post is also very interesting. I never really thought of the evolution of it all, how we use to be passive and not doing much when it came to the media. Then becoming active audiences with making our own media, and having our own voice. Adding personal pro’s and con’s added some good thought to it too. The colors and visuals all fit pretty nicely and i really liked what you wrote!
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I really enjoyed reading this post. My favourite aspect of the post was the way in which you related it completely back to your own life. By including a list of pro’s and cons and writing them from your own viewpoint, it became very apparent that you are personally engaged with the topic of convergence. I definitely agree with your point that consumers are being more powerful due to convergence, but have you perhaps considered that our views and creations are still being inadvertently influenced by the ideas of these large corporations? If there is no accessible platform to share content on (usually produced by large corporations) then this might diminish the power of the prosumer.
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