Convergence and/or divergence

Nina Ratavaara

Sep. 2011 · GRIN Verlag

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Essay from the year 2008 in the subject Communications - Multimedia, Internet, New Technologies, grade: 3 (vgl. Anm.), University of Helsinki (Communications), course: Media Convergence, language: English, abstract: It is not possible to avoid the two words convergence divergence in literature, discussions and theories about new media, new services, what the audience wants and the future of media nowadays as „convergence rapidly became one of the key concepts in new media discourse.”(Storsul/Stuedahl:2007:9) So it was mentioned in articles, academic texts, policy documents and industrial papers and was introduced as the new order. (Fagerjord/Storsul:2007:19) And in becoming a key concept convergence also became an important rhetorical tool that encouraged change in several fields e.g. grassroot journalism sites or media companies presenting new (future) plans for online platforms and mobile services. (Storsul/Stuedahl:2007:9) But even if the two words are omnipresent it seems as if not everybody is writing, meaning and talking about the same. Actually sometime when reading different articles and books it seems as the authors were writing and discussing totally different topics. Like Storsul and Stuedal describe it, convergence really is a buzzword.(Storsul/Stuedahl:2007:9) And it is not only a buzzword, but it bears the old human (science-fiction) visions and hopes of media enabling things being managed by one central system and/or device that organizes our whole life and we now can’t even think of. (Storsul/Stuedahl:2007:10)One very common though simple example of such futuristic thinking and visions might be the refrigerator that automatically and independently orders the needed food and drinks from the shop and they are also delivered automatically, maybe even beamed into the refrigerator.