Convergence Culture

Convergence, defined in Henry Jenkins introductory chapter as "the flow of content across multiple media platforms" is becoming a part of our everyday lives. Instead of using an mp3 player for music, a camera for pictures and a camcorder for video, we have it all wrapped into one in the Smartphones that are on the market. This is possibly one of the reasons there are more and more interactive experiences with media. For example instead of just watching the TV show X Factor, you can now download an app which allows you to vote along with the judges during the auditions, making you feel like part of the show. However, taking Henry Jenkins example of American Idol, he states that "fans fear that their participation is marginal" (Jenkins, 2006, p.20). It could be the illusion of control and participation that entices an audience to watch. 
Although, in other forms of media, viewers do have more control. In Summer 2013, Microsoft revealed it's new console-the Xbox One. The console allows people to be watching a movie on Netflix, but also be on Skype talking to a friend; or watching TV and be notified that a multiplayer game is happening. Microsoft found a way to broaden it's audience by taking advantage of the culture we live in today. In a way, it epitomises Jenkins' "black box" (Jenkins, 2006, p.8), even though the book was written years before the Xbox One was even announced. However there was a lot of negative feedback from consumers about the console-stating that it wasn't made for gamers anymore. The pre-order sales figures up to 24th August 2013 show what the audience think; the PS4, Xbox's biggest rival, has 600,000 pre-orders where the Xbox One, even with all of it's applications and features, has only 350,000. This caused Xbox to backtrack in a lot of the features, making it more accessible for gamers to play. The audience clearly did not want to accept or wasn't ready for the change and Jenkins reiterates this in the introductory chapter of Convergence Culture;
"You can scarcely blame consumers for not knowing how to speak this new language...when so little previous effort has been made to educate them about convergence thinking". (Jenkins, 2006, p.8)
Media culture is changing rapidly, and society needs to catch up. 

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References
Jenkins, Henry (2006) Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide, New York University Press.

Xbox One and Playstation 4 Pre-order sales figures accessed 12:50 09/10/13-http://www.vgchartz.com/article/251266/ps4-vs-xbox-one-pre-order-totals-to-august-24th-2013/

X Factor App http://xfactor.itv.com/2013/app/

Playstation 4 Information- accessed 20:18 09/10/13-
http://uk.playstation.com/ps4/

Xbox One Information- accessed 20:20 09/10/13-
http://www.xbox.com/en-US/xbox-one/meet-xbox-one?xr=shellnav