Media and Convergence

The way media is produced has changed vastly since the in the past 30 or so years. Since 1982, we have seen the introduction of the Internet, which has revolutionized the way we consume media. The internet itself has come along was since its conception in 1982, and we now look at the World Wide Web in three forms – Web 1.0, Web 2.0 and Web 3.0.

Web 1.0 is the first generation of internet websites. They were mostly text with some pictures and links. Advertisements bordered the pages and this was pretty much it.

The more recent introduction of Social Networking pages such as MySpace, Facebook and Twitter has revolutionized the web again, creating Web 2.0. Web 2.0 is a far more interactive experience, allowing its users to produce content as well as create it. This has seen the term ‘prod-users’ coined by many in the media today. As the internet has become widely used all over the world, these social sites are rampant.  Pews Research Facility in Washington has found that 75% of Generation Y (or ‘millennials’ as they are referred to in the states) in America have their own social networking page. Their research also states that ‘One-in-five (millennials) have posted a video of themselves online’.

As we continue into the future, we will continue to develop Web 3.0,which has already started coming into effect. At the moment, social networking sites such as Facebook use technology that mean that all our internet usage is divided into machine-readable packets of information – to see what we are accessing online and our recent searches so they can tailor content and advertisements to us each individually. This can be a very useful tool for advertisers, but there are potential flaws in this – possibly in the future, Internet users could completely lose their awareness of the world around them if the content is always tailored specifically to their usage.  Web 3.0 is in its early stages as we speak, and hopefully the people with the power to yield this tool will do so sensibly, avoiding the dangers of media tunnel vision.

Today’s media has converged in other ways aside from the way we format the internet – the introduction of smart phones, tablets, kindles and various other devices has changed how we access our media. This enables us to be able to access a lot of ‘Old Media’ (Television programs, radio shows and films) on the internet and through these new devices. This has sparked a revolution in how we view our news, which has meant disaster for the print newspaper – less people are subscribing to their print editions as they turn to the internet as a source for news. The internet is a globalisation tool, enabling us to get any information from anywhere at anytime.

Media and platform use over time

Media companies such as Fairfax and News Ltd now need to learn how to harness the internets’ power to their advantage – they need to learn how to monetise it. Newspapers such as The Australian have started charging for online content as well as print subscriptions, and there are many news sources such as Crikey, which is only available online to a subscribed audience.  I believe as time goes on, as more websites will charge for content and user subscription will increase once more.

Comparatively to our Gen X counterparts, we consume news in a very different way. We can access our news at anytime, not just at 6pm when the local anchorman begins to read the teleprompter. The days of Ron Burgundy – the ‘Legend’ of San Diego – are over. We are the generation most comfortable using the internet (Again, this Pew research states so) and the most comfortable with technology. As we move into the future and technology continues to change, our news will continue to change. We are just beginning to catch up with the changes that have taken place in the past 30 years, and hopefully we can keep it that way.