Intro Questions

Jared Strand

1.     Why does convergence happen in the communication and media fields? What are the two conditions that lead to convergence?

Convergence happens when the idea of individuals have social interactions with one another and our ideas of media flow gets transformed into resources to make everyday life easier when old and new media collide. The two conditions that make this possible is man's conquest to interact about ideas of media which leads to a generated buzz that the industry values. It's the idea that a collective intelligence can come to one view to better media convergence.

2.     What are the three different kinds of digital convergence discussed in the article?

Intellective intelligence of convergence of video games produced by Sony and Microsoft taking over households, The forms in which humans communicate (going from telegraphs to cellphones) with evolutionary convergence, and participate convergence the tools we use for media how formats once available of 8-Track are now available on MP3 Files.

3.     What cultural and social impacts does digital convergence have in addition to technological changes?

 In the article "Worship of the Altar of the Convergence of Media", The evolution of media is described to as expanded historically since the dawn of time. One outlook that get's discussed is the article from a cultural standpoint are September 11th Attack broadcast by CNN and socially by the uprise of sites that linked certain Sesame Street characters with terrorists based off the same attack. Another social change is the form of communication how a conversation between two people sharing ideas are limited to text or email as oppose to a formal conversation face to face 20 years ago.

4.     Do the new media displace old media in the history of media development? Why or why not?

 Old media was not displaced but evolutes into new media for a new generation because the article claims that people have found new and easier ways to produce the same old from of media to make life easier. Most of these formats are digital forms of media when taking the old and making it new.

5.     The convergence happens from both the top-down corporate level and bottom-up grassroots level. How do both levels change the traditional concept of media consumption?

When using participation culture,  convergence is used on a corporate level because everyone has an opportunity to post or access the media and the business model for what individuals (mainly the youth) are discussing, the current buzz is used, using the business to expand the media. And convergence is used on a grassroots level because new forms of media are used to achieve powerful new ways to access mainstream media, controlling media, and communicating with other consumers with the media, consumers control.

6.     What does digital convergence in media indicate for communication and journalism professionals in the future?

 Industries will find new ways to renegotiating the lifestyle and relationship of the target consumer. Media in the future will also be more inline with culture issues because of the amount of access we will have. While as a profession, it's easier to understand how to use formats of media if you have all the skill sets, certain limitations for others who don't know how to use the new media will be lost in the convergence for the future.