Blog Assignment 6

        Henry Jenkins (2006) writes that convergence is “the flow of content across multiple media platforms, the cooperation between multiple media industries, and the migratory behavior of media audiences who will go almost anywhere in search of the kinds of entertainment experiences they want” (p. 3-4). He states that this term can be used to describe technological, industrial, and social changes; convergence represents a shift in culture, due to consumers being encouraged to find new information and establish connections between pieces of scattered media content (Jenkins, 2006, p. 4). The distribution of online content, a key element of convergence, requires active participation on behalf of consumers (Bailey, 2007, p. 2). Jenkin (2006) emphasizes the importance of being an active online participant when he asserts that producers who fail to accept this new participatory culture will find themselves at a great disadvantage in more ways than one (p. 34).
Creative engagement stems from users actively participating in the online culture. New media technologies have, according to Jenkins (2006), “enabled consumers to archive, annotate, appropriate, and recirculate media content in powerful new ways” (p. 25). Using current examples, such as Harry Potter and American Idol, Jenkins illustrates how consumers, or fans, establish virtual communities where they are free to share their knowledge and collaborate with other fans. In these groups, fans engage in participation when they “collaboratively produce knowledge regarding a branded artifact, generate grassroots versions of it, and follow multiple versions of the brand across multiple media, whether corporate or grassroots” (Meehan, 2007, p. 602). In short, fans are accomplishing a great deal and doing so for the product they support.
         Jenkins believes that if these fan communities and media institutions begin interacting more, it may launch the formation of micromarkets, which would profit both parties. Micromarkets could diversify commercial culture an even ultimately democratize various types of media (Meehan, 2007, p. 602). If the power differences were lessened between the two, good things could come out of it. Jenkins expands on that notion by discussing how, if media institutions were given less control, they would have to readily accept ordinary users’ contributions, which could “result in more creative media products” (Bailey, 2007, p. 2). Essentially, if fans were able to actively engage in the collaborative process with media establishments, the results would include exceptional products and a happier, more diverse online community.

References

Bailey, V. (2007). [Review of the book Convergence culture: Where old and new media collide]. LOEX Quarterly. 34(3), 2-3. Retrieved from http://commons.emich.edu/loexquarterly/vol34/iss3/

Jenkins, H. (2006). Convergence culture: Where old and new media collide. New York: New York University Press.

Meehan, E. R. (2007). [Review of the books Convergence culture: Where old and new media collide and How to think about information]. Journal of Communication 57(3), 602-604. Retrieved from http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jcom.2007.57.issue-3/issuetoc