Media comes from a need to distribute information, to entertain, to inform. While it still does all this, it is not the individual necessity that it might have been in the past. Today, if you would like know what's going on locally, there are many outlets to find that out. Whereas previously there was just the radio, or just the paper. We have been provided the luxury of choice, a luxury that many have taken for granted.
Media is going increasingly and extremely digital, though not solely. Hard copies of content are still very prevalent, I don't believe libraries and hard text will ever quite die out. One of my favorite zines, 2600, among others, are only available in a hard copy. Simply because we are moving down a path that promotes technological progress does not mean that it is wholly embraced. Groups like the Mid-Atlantic Retro Computing Hobbyists have turned preservation and exploration of antique forms of digital hardware into a hobby. You have not seen convergence until you have seen Guitar hero played on a commodore 64!
Convergence is also saturating the dying medium of television, if it has not already. With DVR's and slingbox units and the integration of other devices and software are starting to create some sort of TV+ amalgam. While it is pretty much the same content and hierarchy as before, the way it's consumed is generally becoming more portable.
What does this say about our daily habits? Are we becoming a society of digital nomads? The rise of cellular networks is another factor that can attest to this; what once was your home base for external communication, is now in your pocket. Is this beneficial? For realistic things, it can help if you need to access to this or that, although many times these habits can serve more to be a distraction from the literal world around us.
With this increased accessibility though, (much as “big media” may not want to admit) comes independence. One example I have seen is this rise of these, often one person, independent game developers. Their success never could have been possible in the early stages of computers and convergence. In many cases, origins for media creation are straying from profit and consumer demand and more towards the love of the art, whatever that may be.
Distribution services are becoming much friendlier to self-sufficient producers. The Steam platform is a digital service for games and other software that has seen much success, partly due to their drive to host these polished independent games. Self distribution has become easier and especially more viable then ever, with the ability to reach thousands of individuals over social networks or bookmarking sites. Many individuals have seen success in various mobile app stores, rising in parallel with the success of smart phones and other portable gadgets. Brick and mortar stores are not an effective location for digital content anymore. Why buy a CD when you can purchase and download content straight to your home. It harms the (often predatory) preexisting middleman, and in most instances, cuts them out entirely.
Forms of radical material is much easily spread now then it was before. Unfortunately, official monitoring of said media is a lot easier in if proper precautions are not taken. In 2005, the search giant Yahoo gave up information to the Chinese authority regarding the journalist Shi Tao, who was writing for political reform in China. He is currently serving out his ten year sentence.
What is interesting about this case and others like it, is that it prompts even more subversive media like the FuckFlickr software put out by the Free Art and Technology lab. This admirable program was a retaliation to Yahoo's practices, calling it an “image gallery software that won’t narc you out.” Regardless of its success in competition to the actual site it duplicates, it promotes awareness of the situation, which is more crucial in the long run.
Media is also going places it never has before. The One Laptop Per Child endeavor strives to give energy efficient, custom learning laptops to young persons in the so-called “third world” countries. It is beneficial in terms of these computers are geared towards learning, however one must be wary in the idea that over time it may develop into a form of digital colonialism. Spreading a dominant culture on those with other notions about the world is easier with endeavors like these, so it is a complicated and situational subject, one that can not be generalized by good or evil.
All of these developing factors in media are all very inspirational to me and those around me. To realize that what someone could create is more accessible than ever before is an exciting prospect. The fact that there is an increasing amount of individual created content out there is a humbling notion as well. Hopefully in the near future more possibilities for independent, converged, content will spring up and more individuals can produce content with less expertise.
