Covergence transforming the nature of the audience

The term convergence, explores the idea of technologies merging into one another. For example, a mobile can now be used as a camera or an mp3 player. This depicts the fact that the media industry is continuously becoming diverse in order to accomplish the concept of producing and distributing products accross several forms of media. An example of this is the release of a film online. (Duality is a Star Wars fan film which made its debut over the internet in 2001).


Before the occurance of convergence, there was a very harsh division between the media and the audience. The media was considered god-like as they were high up in the heirarchy, as opposed to the audience whome were considered as the little people as they could not interact with the media. Since convergence has taken place, the media and audience have been considered as no different from one another. This is because the audience have begun to be the media by providing others with entertainment and engagement. They are considered as equal due to the changes in technology. This is considered as push media where there is a clear media to audience relationship, creating a transformation to pull media where anyone can create media.

The creation of youtube, wiki and myspace enables the audience to become the media as it allows people to upload sources which is provided by the site users and is then distributed to the audience, this is known as fragmentation due to the fact that the users of these sites are seen as wasing storage space as it is used inefficiently.

Web 2.0 is a new phase of the internet which allows us to create material and distribute it to one another and perhaps move closer to the democratic spirit of the internet. For example, the E4 programme 'Skins' was originally premierred online, but it became a huge hit and it was then taken over by the Channel 4 productions and it was aired on television.

Doctor Who has gonbe through the process of convergence as it was an intermedial text which then aired a radio drama, created a DVD, was aired On demand, published books and magazines and the television programme and video games were lunched from this form of convergence.