Meme joke..

Saw this joke image on facebook, but it sums up the technological aspect of convergence pretty well.

http://www.haha-lolz.com/images/1320687867-91840.jpg

Essentially everything in the image can be done on a pc.

~ James

Old people Vs Technology; Generalisations and what-not

Hey, found an article about the benefits of technology with regards to old age. It's written by Simon Roberts (2009) on behalf of the International Longevity Centre UK and Intel Corporation.
http://ilcuk.org.uk/files/pdf_pdf_112.pdf

While it's not directly relevant to Media Convergence in the subject matter, the introduction puts forward some interesting thoughts about the Generalisation of technophobia in old people. I've included a few quotes regarding the issue.

It's widely believed, at any rate, that a large percentage of older people find it harder to adapt to ever changing technologies, and in particular, to keep up with the fast paced changes new technologies bring. This, if true, is an example of a challenge to society in regards to media convergence, as it segregates and discriminates against a potential audience. How does it do this? Because the potential audience, generally, will either not be able to engage with the multi-platform content (E.G Smart phone apps or the internet) OR will just not feel inclined due to not having the confidence or the knowledge to access additional content.

"More often than not we speak on behalf of older people... the sweeping generalisation or the personal anecdote." (Roberts, 2009)

Conversely, it is a generalisation - a stereotype. Stereotypes are not always true, and are mostly false and have little evidence. Again, this poses a challenge to society - If it's widely believed and accepted that older generations can't cope with the rapid technological change, then developers of said technologies risk over looking them entirely, viewing them almost as a lost cause.


"Sweeping generalisations by their very nature mask differences of opinion and experience, and in that way close down discussions. They do not allow for the existence of difference. Generalisations paint over the messy realities of everyday life." (Roberts, 2009)


~James

Illegal downloads...

This was mentioned in a lecture Deborah was running a week or two ago, in which she stated Illegal downloads have hurt film, album and single sales, causing them to drop rapidly thus threatening the film and music industries. However I retorted with "Single sales have dropped, but album sales have increased, plus exposure to more music increases the sale of concert/gig tickets and merchandise" or something to that effect... That was met with cynicism, so here's the article I was referring to:

http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/features/illegal-downloading-what-happens-if-youre-caught-1736013.html?fb_action_ids=2636028975210&fb_action_types=news.reads&fb_source=other_multiline#access_token=AAADWQ6323IoBAEKCIuL6xZBkZAHw0Ye2FAnYxJCE9CKHj7vJR6FybPalTYRxFMMCae98qJwO9VkhiLybAxZB6sNNNhVwwX24CjJc82FRFHOQd4uK4rv&expires_in=6976

And the quote:

And album sales aren't haemorrhaging in the doom-mongering way we have been led to believe. Single sales have dropped, but 28 million more albums were sold last year than a decade ago, including digital sales. Live performances, which account for more than half of the industry's profits, are unaffected by downloads – and may even be boosted by the opportunity they offer for young people on tight budgets to sample the music they might like to hear at a concert. These are not arguments embraced by the music or film industries, which retort that only a small proportion of musicians and film-workers make a comfortable living. Their industries should be treated like other businesses, where not paying for a product or service is not tolerated. Geoff Taylor, the Chief Executive of the BPI, says: "There is not an acceptable level of file-sharing. Musicians need to be paid like everyone else."


~James

5th episode of Stephen Fry on the Phone

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b017clwx/Stephen_Fry_on_the_Phone_The_Chips_inside_Smartphones/

All mobile phones rely on hyper-intelligent silicon chips to run them. And the astonishing thing is: 85% of the silicon chips inside all mobile phones are designed by one Cambridge-based company, ARM. Stephen Fry talks to the pioneers who designed these chips. They needed some micro-processors to build a better home computer, but didn't like what they saw and decided to make their own. Strapped for cash, they designed chips that were small, cheap and exceptionally low power and, quite by chance, ideally suited to the next generation of pocket-sized mobile phones. Not to mention today's power-hungry smartphones.

4th episode of Stephen Fry on the Phone

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b017cjmn/Stephen_Fry_on_the_Phone_Shrinking_the_Handset/

In the fourth episode, Stephen Fry talk to the engineers who turned mobile phones from hefty executive bricks into svelte fashion accessories. One man at Motorola dreamt of a mobile phone small enough to fit in a shirt pocket but it was Nokia , once more famous for making loo paper and wellies, that cornered the global market. In the early nineties, Nokia was on the brink of collapse. But the new chief executive, brought in to save the company from bankruptcy, made a bold decision to ditch the wellies and focus solely on mobile phones. Soon the iconic Nokia ringtone (extracted incidentally from a piece for classical guitar composed in 1902) was inescapable.

3rd episode of Stephen Fry on the Phone

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b017chq0/Stephen_Fry_on_the_Phone_The_Accidental_Discovery_of_Text/

Stephen Fry meets the men who created the first texting facility, as well as other less commercially successful products like taxifones, payphones on trains and in-car fax machines. He hears how texting triumphed unexpectedly when paging was all the rage, partly because paging services never seemed to work on Friday afternoon. On the earliest handsets there was no way of replying to a text. Later, just in case someone might want to reply, they included a short list of possible pre-set answers: yes, no and later. In the mid 90s texting was just one of countless facilities embedded within the new digital mobile phones: no one thought it that important. Last year alone, a staggering 6.1 trillion text messages were sent. And most of them received a reply.

2nd episode of Stephen Fry on the Phone

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b017cfkj/Stephen_Fry_on_the_Phone_From_Car_Phone_to_Executive_Brick/


In episode two, Stephen Fry meets the men who brought mobile phones to Britain. Thanks to Margaret Thatcher opening up the airwaves, Britain became a world leader in mobile phone technology in the eighties. Vodafone (short for voice-data-phone) competed fiercely with the BT's mobile baby, Cellnet (short for cellular network), to create the first mobile phone network in the UK which was launched to great fanfare on Christmas Day 1985. Coverage was truly patchy, handsets were seriously hefty and calls cost a fortune, but mobile phones quickly replaced car phones as the ultimate yuppie accessory. Voicemail, incidentally, was a good excuse to charge customers yet more for a service that was, in reality, rather poor..

New Charlie Brooker series on technology and society

Charlie Brooker (E4's Bafta-nominated Dead Set author) returns with Black Mirror, a new 3 x 60 minute scripted mini-series, commissioned by Head of Comedy Shane Allen and produced by comedy and drama producer Zeppotron.

Over the last ten years, technology has transformed almost every aspect of our lives before we've had time to stop and question it. In every home; on every desk; in every palm - a plasma screen; a monitor; a smartphone - a black mirror of our 21st Century existence. Our grip on reality is shifting. We worship at the altars of Google and Apple. Facebook algorithims know us more intimately than our own parents. We have access to all the information in the world, but no brainspace left to absorb anything longer than a 140-character tweet.

Black Mirror is a hybrid of The Twilight Zone and Tales of the Unexpected which taps into our contemporary unease about our modern world. The three stand-alone dramas will be sharp, suspenseful, satirical tales with a techno-paranoia bent - all audacious ‘what if' stories: some comic, some shocking.

Charlie Brooker says: ‘Growing up, I always loved The Twilight Zone and shows of that ilk. Black Mirror won't be anything like those, but on the other hand, it's closer to them than, say, Downton Abbey. It combines satire, technology, absurdity, and a pinch of surprise, and it all takes place in a world you almost - almost - totally recognise. It changes each week - like the weather, but hopefully about 2000 times more entertaining. If you don't like it, you will be beaten about the face and neck by Channel 4 executives.'

Head of Comedy, Shane Allen says: ‘This is satirical drama for the social media generation all rooted in the world around us now. A thought-provoking and gripping reflection and extrapolation of current social, cultural and technology-inspired trends and fears. Charlie's writing is imbued with a beautiful blend of emotion and intelligence that pulls you in to a thrilling projection of themes which surround our everyday. In a world where bloggers can communicate from beyond the grave and a world leader can watch an assassination in real time on the other side of the planet there is much to say about how we live and what values we share. Now, if I can just convince Charlie to introduce it all from a fireside chair we're quids in.'

Black Mirror will be Executive Produced by Charlie Brooker and Annabel Jones and series produced by Barney Reisz for Zeppotron. The series will be filmed over the summer and is expected to air later this year.

Stephen Fry on the Phone

This 5x15 BBC Radio 4 series, hosted by Stephen Fry, explores the history of the mobile phone, from its very beginning of practical usage, to todays fashion accessories, highlighting the changes in technology and how society changed as mobile phones developed.


This is episode 1, I will keep posting the episodes as they come out, but watch them quick, its on iPlayer so they'll only be available for 7 days!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b017cb0m/Stephen_Fry_on_the_Phone_Creating_the_Network/

Some Guardian articles

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/nov/09/bbc-guidelines-bskyb

This one is linked into my previous post about the 5 levels of convergence. It is a demonstration of content sharing between two institutions. In this case, the BBC relaxing its rules on how much of its content can be used by Sky.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/nov/10/steve-coogan-alan-partridge-sky

This article is an example of another level of convergence, cloning. The show following Steve Coogan's character, Alan Partridge, on his radio show, North Norfolk digital radio show is called Mid Morning Matters. It was originally aired online as a 12 part series of 10-15 minute programmes. Sky are re-editing the same content for airing on their Sky Atlantic channel. Same content, different platform.

5 levels

Found a paper that says that convergence, in terms of news content, can be split into 5 levels, cross promotion, cloning, coopetition, content sharing and true convergence. This can be easily adapted to apply to the media in general. Just change the news institutions for platforms and it's sort of the same idea.

https://docs.google.com/viewer?
a=v&q=cache:QI3cHlG8AkAJ:citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download%3Fdoi%3D10.1.1.130.4530%26rep%3Drep1%26type%3Dpdf+larry+dailey+convergence+continuum&hl=en&gl=uk&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEEShVs4I_iokYo9yvslBspFHu0pOflSIcYBnuB8dShIQIZp8OLFqkyNVy_aXo0oTOcneEhavRyt3kOKvAS70DozMddZZc6y3_FSkg_h6w51cBvWvu3TdD1p9kdDlavL5uxt-BiDKv&sig=AHIEtbSiCK7Gc-J-hOmahWeg-NCUP7yjEA

Convergence Culture

I was able to find the Convergence Culture book we were recommended at the beginning. Theres alot of focus on grass root media which can be applied to almost all the areas in media convergence, both negative and positive.

If you havnt had a chance to read it yet its at media city library, far right, bottom corner shelf

Hourglass syndrome? I prefer GOOGLE RAGE!!!

This article explains what hourglass syndrome is, basically people waiting for that little hourglass symbol to go away on their computers. It explains how the internet is growing at such a rate that technologies in the physical sense are struggling to keep up with the pace, causing people stress at their machines. With people now able to stream or download anything they want, many peoples computers simply can't keep up. Dominic Strinati, a media and cultural theorist, says that 'confusions over time and space' is an example of a postmodern text. Due to the idea that the internet can connect people all over the world, we are turning into a instantaneous culture, one that has learnt that it can get anything anytime at the click of a button, confusing our ideas of time and space (to put it in the terms of Strinati), and is therefore a negative effect on society and audiences.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2010/04/09/us-technology-stress-idUSTRE6383AC20100409

For those of you who cant be bothered to read all that or the article, here is a funny video explaining hourglass syndrome, or as I like to call it, GOOGLE RAGE!! ps. ignore the slight advertisement angle for intel products.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XQGtdRBYFEs

Electric Dreams

These clips were shown in the presentation, but thought I'd just post here for future reference.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00n4yqn/episodes/guide

The Programme is a three part series that looks at the effect of technology (and by extension, the effects of media convergence) on the family, showing the gradual decline of time spent as a family compared to the amount of time each member spends doing their own thing.

~James

Cinematic TV, help or hindrance?

I found this article on the guardians website, it explains how because of technological changes, such as catch up services, are changing the way society and audiences are watching their TV. It then goes on to explain how some industries are reacting to this in the way the broadcast TV.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/oct/23/cinematic-tv-dramas-online-viewing?fb=native&CMP=FBCNETTXT9038