Convergence Culture

Convergence culture is the combination of old and new media to produce something that we can interact with in more than one way. Over the years we have seen convergence culture processing different media forms of old and due to the shift in media culture.

"Media convergence is an on-going process, occurring at various intersections of media technologies, industries, content and audiences". 

Traditional media such as books have been transformed and almost over took by kindles. This has also been the case with other media forms. For example vinyl records were taken over by cassettes which were taken over by CD's which have now become obsolete in light of digital formats such as the MP3.

"We are entering an era where media will be everywhere, and we will use all kinds of media in relation to one another..."

Smart phones are a hybrid; they meet their purpose plus contain many other media forms of devices. In the smart phone we have adopted touch screen technologies, voice recognition and sensors to access old media in a digital format. For example; cameras, video, MP3, internet and gaming. The evolution of what phones can do and what they will be able to do in the future is part of a culture that we have no control over and is constantly evolving. The convergence of many media technologies plus the fierce competition between technology giants allows one media device to perform many different tasks.

"Consumers are learning to use different media technologies to bring the flow of media more fully under their control and to interact with other consumers".

Consumers are interacting more with technology culture becoming natural to us. With everything at the touch of a button it could be said that technology does not discriminate. Consumers of any age and gender can access alternative media outlets with ease. The growing consumption of media has an effect on our everyday lives.

• Henry Jenkins, 2008, Convergence Culture: Where old and new media collide, New York University Press