“The monolithic empires of mass media are dissolving into an array of cottage industries. . . . Media barons of today will be grasping to hold onto their centralized empires tomorrow. . . . The combined forces of technology and human nature will ultimately take a stronger hand in plurality than any laws Congress can invent.” - Nicolas Negroponte, “Being Digital”, 1990
A few blogs back I talked about how the mobile phone you have is only is good as the access it gives you. The ability to get online with it, to synchronise your day with friends on the fly. This is what is at the heart of media convergence. We all want what we have to do something more.
The media industry, essentially does the same thing with the way it portrays content to the public. It’s not enough that the news is reported on TV, it has to be available for “like” on Facebook. The content of a newspaper article, is the same as it was 10 years ago, but now people are not satisfied unless they are given the option to discover more about it online. The reason for this, which Deuze discusses, is the increased media consumption by the public, and the need for participatory media consumption. The audience (or user) now want to feel like they are part of the media. The advancements in technology lead to the audience having a greater ability to give feedback. So the media industry had to keep up and go online. This ultimately resulted in media convergence.
It’s interesting to note that as I’m writing this blog, I’ve suddenly realised that I don’t know which is a more appropriate term; “audience” or “user”. In regards to television and radio (and possibly print media too), the word “audience” seems to fit, as they are broadcast media. But when the audience goes online, are they still an audience? The word “user” once only applied to computer users. But now the audience gives back, actively. So when does the audience officially become a user? I’m starting to think the word “audience” is not obsolete in the scope of media, and that now we are all users of media, rather than an audience of it.
I feel like I’m in Tron…
You're right in saying we're users of media, but again we are audiences as well. We are no longer passive audiences rather active where we use media as a tool. As media evolves so does the role of audiences. You can see the transition of traditional media and now new media where the traditional role of an audience (to be passive) is now changed to active.
ReplyDeleteI don't know if everything has to be available for 'Like' on Facebook. I definitely think that the sharing function adds a whole new dimension of meaning and direction to how it affects the people that read it and how it is written
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