The idea of "Convergence" has come a long way. But will it ever end? Will it continue on into the future? I believe that convergence will continue to grow. It has the potential to morph into something we have never seen before. There are many forms which it could take on, and based on some of the things discussed in class, it could go anywhere.
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| Freshnessmag.com Jay-Z Decoded |
A great example comes from our guest speaker Hashem Bajwa. What was so interesting about his work is how he essentially took two completely opposite entities, and brought them together through a brilliant marketing campaign. The outcome, of course, helped each party immensely. Those two parties being Jay-Z and Microsoft. Microsoft has a boring search engine that needed a cool factor, and Jay-Z had a book that needed wide-scale exposure. Hashem and his company Droga5 took the book and the search engine and created an incredible interactive marketing campaign whereby pages of the book were posted all around cities and places that are talked about in the book. To take print media like a book, and transform the very idea of text in such a way truly exemplifies the very nature of how convergence is changing. Hashem and his company found a new way to market old media through the internet and in real life.
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| Boomgenstudios.com |
The work that Hashem did contains elements of transmedia storytelling. Being that my group presented on transmedia storytelling, I would like to talk about how I believe transmedia stories are also the future of convergence. In an article written for MIT Technology review, Henry Jenkins writes, "The kids who have grown up consuming and enjoying Pokemon across media
are going to expect this same kind of experience from The West Wing as
they get older."(Jenkins P.1) I believe that what Jenkins is saying here is true about the future of media. As the children of our generation become more accustomed to popular transmedia experiences, they will want to see more of them in the future. It is true that we are seeing more and more transmedia franchises and experiences popping up as of late. People in the industry have noticed as well. Upcoming company
BoomGen Studios has dedicated itself to creating transmedia stories. From the front page of their website reads a simple mission statement, "We design story franchises around our comic book/ graphic novel projects and expand each property into other media platforms."(BoomGen) I believe the existence of a company like BoomGen speaks to the popularity and longevity of the transmedia platform.
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| nytimes.com Quest to Learn |
But what about games? Video games have exploded in popularity in the past 20 years, and are only getting more popular. Games are another great example of where convergence is heading. Jane McGonigal is one of the important figures in this realm. In her TED talk titled, "Gaming can make a better world", she outlines her theory that if we play "bigger and better games" for more hours per week, we can essentially ave the real world. She argues that games are teaching us real world problem solving, and games give us skills that can be used in the real world. She herself designs games that challenge players to think critically, and solve simulations of real world problems. While I don't necessarily agree with all of her theory, I think her overall ideas about games are relevant. I agree that games are teaching us new skills. Games have become more and more involved in the last decade, and as children grow up now, they are presented with games with complex problems. For these children games can teach them valuable skills they can use in the future. I believe the future of games can help this notion. Take for example Katie Salens's "Quest to Learn" school in New York. The school is entirely based on children learning through games. Children are taught about game design to allow them to think like the designers of the games they play at home. In the end, it givers them a better understanding of a wide variety of subjects all through games. In this aspect, games also contribute to the future of convergence. The future holds more learning through gaming. I believe we will see more programs like Katie Salen's in the future.
So what has convergence become? Media is changing all around us, and different forms of media are collaborating in new ways every day. The Droga5 project is a perfect example of blending old and new media in a totally different way. Transmedia stories transform a film or book into a whole experience moving across many platforms. Finally, games are becoming more complex, and are teaching children important skills they will use in the future to help further society. To me, all of these examples are where convergence is headed. As far as I can tell, it's a ride that's never going to end.
Bibliography / Resources:
BoomGen Studios
Droga5
Jane McGonigal: Gaming can make a better world
Jenkins, Henry. "Solutions to Electric-Vehicle Battery Hazards."
MIT Technology Review. 15 Jan. 2003. MIT. 25 Nov. 2013 <http://www.technologyreview.com/news/401760/transmedia-storytelling/>.
Quest to Learn
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