The Transformation Within Convergence.

Rosenfield Media

As the world goes digital, old and new generations have to slowly adjust to a new lifestyle. By all means, it is safe to say that there is a great future for convergence. Whether it will be gathering information, or a new way of learning, convergence will lead our future’s future.  As Merriam-Webster defines it as “the merging of distinct technologies, industries, or devices into a unified whole”, convergence will bring almost everything together. With the help of new innovative platforms and gadgets, we will consume information real quick at a real time pace. However, it will question the future of some industries, one of them being my field - journalism.

Though there’s Twitter, Facebook, and other social media networks that help boost the speed and viral-ity of news it questions the consistency and accuracy of how in depth the news really is. As mentioned many times in past blog posts and in class, citizen journalism is on the rise. Although it is convenient, it may not be accurate or true for one matter. Thus leading to a learning process we must all partake in for our futures, where both technology and storytelling (transmedia) come to play.

In addition to the learning process, transmedia would definitely create a new learning platform for all ages. Referring back to my last post and mentioning Henry Jenkins’ “T” is for “Transmedia” blog post on his website, using small games for toddlers will help them learn. If we continue to create these kinds of transmedia, though it may seem we are being dumbed down by how advanced technology is, young kids can begin to learn about things subconsciously. Not only that but we can discover new ways of learning through them and learn how to improve much more. Thus, a win-win situation for generations involved.

However, as mentioned multiple times mentioned in class, and even guest speaker Hashem Bajwa, we should never forget how it all started. In other words, know your history - about the printing press, the invention of the television, radio, and the rest of classic and modern technology. This way, we understand how things come about and, most importantly, why. Through this, we may utilize them and create something bigger and innovative. Just like Hashem’s project with Jay-Z’s book Decode and Microsoft’s search engine Bing. Two polar opposite subjects meshed together to make a greater storytelling ordeal where the mass can participate.

That is one example of the many. There is more to come due to the technology and the resources being highly accessible in this day and age; to the point where almost nothing can be kept private. We can expect innovative technology to help us understand and develop ways to do the storytelling. But we should think about how we can be original with our ideas other than transforming something into another.

Sources:
Hashem Bajwa, Dro5a
Henry Jenkins, T is for Transmedia