Reflecting On Convergence

Throughout this vigorous session I have published several blog posts focusing on the topics and issues that concern convergent media practices in my subject BCM112. As per the assessments’ requirements, I have chosen what I feel to be my three strongest blog posts, which are listed below.

Transmedia Storytelling – A Collective Effort.

The first post I have chosen is one I pieced together in week 6. This post explains the practices of Transmedia storytelling, primarily focusing on on blockbuster franchises. It also explores how this practice allows audiences to experiences worlds that are not just a single story, but also multiple stories that collaborate into one big pervasive one. This post draws upon information from both the lecture and supplied readings in the tutorial guide, for the relevant week.

The conclusion lands at the notion that transmedia storytelling is forever changing the way we as viewers engage with entertainment, and in the era of collective intelligence, it (transmedia storytelling) is the ideal visual platform to build on this practice.

Collective Intelligence: Fuelling the Flames of Online Discrimination?

This week’s topic was of heightened interest to me, as online discrimination is a contemporary issue in our society, and is showing no signs of slowing down. This post exclusively looked at the detrimental effects online abuse can have on individuals and social groups.

My research led me to discover that hate speech is not a form of free speech, and while everyone is entitled to an opinion, trollers and flamers generally pay no attention to the matter being discussed in online areas such as forums and Twitter.  Furthermore, online campaigns such as #mencallmethings are doing all they can to raise awareness and combat the issue.

Citizen Journalism: Giving Power To The People.

This week’s topic was also of interest to me, as the rise of citizen journalism through technological advances is something I am quite fascinated by. Prior to my research I remained quite static on my opinion that there were few negatives surrounding this style of journalism. However, I was unaware of the true span of citizen journalism and how something as simple as ‘retweeting’ a post can be considered practice.  I found that while Civic Media may increase user participation, it challenges the journalistic code that the profession swears by, causing problems for journalists everywhere.

Citizen Journalism: Empowering Individuals

Mobile technology has given individuals so much power, some of which simply do not know how to wield it. Convergence within the communicative world through mobile technology is changing the way we interact with those around us completely, both professionally and personally.

Gordon in his article ‘The Mobile Phone and the Public Sphere’ draws to our attention how our mobile phones may one day become an important tool, used to report events from a first person perspective.  However, I feel that this occurrence has taken place since this article was written. A recent example would be the recent uprising of the people of Egypt, trying to overturn the regime of President Hosni Mubarkak.

When the riots commenced, the government shut down the Internet in Egypt, so people could not communicate and rally together further on the web. In this scenario, mobile technology was incredibly important as it was the only method journalists, and citizens could broadcast messages and stories to the outside world. Mobile technology allowed for citizen journalism to occur, empowering these individuals, essentially giving a voice, to the voiceless.

Reference List:

Gordon, J 2007, The Mobile Phone and the Public Sphere: Mobile Phone Usage in Three Critical Situations, accessed 23/3/2012, Sage Database.

Internet Browsers: A Part of You, & Me.

The ideologies surrounding Technological convergence has shaped the way we interact and share information with the world. The Internet has become a medium in itself, that has integrated all forms and methods of communication into one device, which has backed us into a corner, in the sense that it is now truly difficult to gauge whether we are online, or offline.

Shirky (2008) reminds us that that the Internet is nearing into its 20th year, and that anything with a life cycle that changes as rapidly as the Internet’s has, is bound to become somewhat an-equated. However, Shirky also draws attention to the fact that the Internet has done so much for us, and rather than fading into oblivion, the Internet browser is becoming the background and essence of user interfaces and even the background of whole operating systems such as Google Chrome.

Which leads me to ask the question, are we ever really offline? The introduction of smart phones and tablet devices have made it impossible to not be connected. Ultimately it seems like the Internet browser has become an integrated part of human life, leaving us forever connected and unable to escape the clutches of its grasp.

Daniel Barrett

Reference List:

Shirky 2011, The Communicators: HIgh Tech & Social Unrest, accessed 21/03/2012, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cx4Yuu2hfP0