Convergence.

Until last week's class period about Media Convergence, I had not really thought about the topic. I also had never heard of mash-ups, but after learning about it, I realize I have been seeing them, using them, and subconsciously knowing about them all along.

Media Convergence is three things: Creation, Distribution, and Consumption. You create different media outlets, distribute material to them such as videos, text, internet, etc, and then people consume that material. The convergence is that you take material from different outlets and convert them to be in multiple outlets.

After reading and discussing the topic of Media Convergence, I have found I have some opinions of my own. To an extent, I love the idea, but only to an extent. When I think about different types of media converging to have all the same abilities through them, I don't necessarily like it. I feel like it is an over-load and completely unnecessary. I not normally a person who thinks technology is an over-load and too much to handle, I love everything about all my technological devices and have grown to be dependent of them. Being able to watch TV episodes on my computer is VERY convenient, and in return makes it so I rarely use my TV unless I am watching movies, which sometimes doesn't even cause me to use my TV because I have an 20 inch screen. I love emailing from my phone, or going on the internet. I love doing all of the above on my iPod touch plus listen to any movies and play endless amounts of games. All of these converging medias are great. However, I feel like it is fine how they are. If they were to converge more, it will begin to feel like we are on overload. TV's do not need internet--I feel like being able to go online through TiVo and things like that is pretty much useless...My family has it and my dad thinks it is the coolest thing ever, but he only uses it when he is trying to show people how cool it is, not when he actually needs to go on the internet. Jenkins says "Consumers are learning how to use these different media technologies to bring the flow of media more fully under their control and to interact with other users" (p. 37). This is true, and is something that makes convergence great. We get to participate more in the media, and not just have it handed to us. This blog, for example, is me being in control of a very small portion, but a portion nonetheless of media.

Jenkins also said, "...new forms of cummunity are emerging. These new communities are defined through voluntary temporary and tactical affiliations, are reaffirmed through common intellectual enterprises and emotional investments and are held together through the mutual production and reciprocal exchange of knowledge" (p. 35). This shows that through our online communites--blogs, facebook, twittr, youtube, wikipedia, etc--we can voice our knowledge and let other people know what we know. We learn from these communities and share with each other. Aside from knowledge benefits from online communities, we can stay in touch with friends and family, which is a huge reason many of us are involved in them. We maintain relationships with people that we never see anymore. On the other hand, there are many people who meet people online and become friends by talking and getting to know eachother. Does this benefit our lives? I would argue that it does. Many people who struggle to find someone to understand them or are shy in public or something along those lines are able to be themselves and meet someone just like them through the internet. This is also something that can mess people up psychologically. They may have an alternate personality online and are not actually being themselves. This way they feel they have two lives and maybe their "dream life" online by pretending to be someone they are not. Sorry for that slight tangent.

In closing, I believe that what we have today through media convergence is enough. I think what we have is all we need and more. To expand on what we have would just be a chance for us to say that we did it, but I would bet most of it would go unused. There is a point where technology becomes unnecessary, and I believe this is one of those times. Maybe I will change my mind when something amazing comes out that I realize I will use every day and can't live without, but for now, that is how I feel.