A VISUAL DEPICTION OF MEDIA TODAY:

When you watch a television program, you are using media.

If the television program has commercials, you are watching media with advertising.

If the television program (with advertising) spans across another medium, such as the internet, this is converged communications.

If the writer develops the program across various mediums, and you must interact in multiple mediums to gain insight as to the entire storyline, this is transmedia storytelling.

.And last, if the writer also provides content which alters how you perceive the program, this is called additive comprehension.

The graphic illustrations above illustrate how efforts in media communications have evolved and expanded over recent decades.  Through this process, the roles of consumers, the content produced, and the roles of the producers have evolved and expanded.

Changing Roles....

First, consumers are no longer order-takers.  Rather, they can also be producers and editors themselves.  Consumers also help direct (and sometimes dictate) the content expected from commercial producers.

Second, media content has changed as well.  The most recent content evolution involves transmedia storytelling, as described by author Henry Jenkins.  Transmedia storytelling is the art of using different media mediums to develop a story (Jenkins, 2006).  For example, parts of a story may be relayed through a film production, while other pieces form through the use of video games and comic books.  It should be noted that this is not the same concept as one story being commercially shared through various mediums; rather, with transmedia storytelling, one can only experience the entire story by participating in all the forms through which the story unfolds. (This topic is also addressed in Time Travels in Popular Media, Time Travel in Popular Media .)

Furthermore, within transmedia storytelling, we can see examples of producer evolution.  I venture to say that most producers started their careers for the sake of art and its creation.  However, their endeavors become more rich, meaningful, and expansive through converged communications. This also means that there is more for the producers to gain from a commercial perspective, which eventually equates to increased revenues. As the number of mediums that content spans expands, the fan base and consumerism potentials also proportionately expand.  For example, some producers create “worlds.” Their dynamic characters pursue different adventures within the different media realms.  Meanwhile, fans find themselves lured in, often jumping from source to source to gain additional insight and clues surrounding the stories.

However, there is always more room for growth and continued evolution.  The key for practitioners of converged communications is to figure out where this growth may occur.  I am not creative- nor am I imaginative, so I’m not the best person to speculate where this growth might be.  Possibly some kind of tracking mechanism that stores data gathered as consumers are exposed to specific media content, and through which the consumers gain status by their level of engagement?

Or maybe we will simply loop back around and recycle older mediums to meet our modern needs. 

And through this process, as producers continue to incorporate additive comprehension to shape our consumption experiences and direct our thinking, we (as consumers/producers/media drivers) in return, will develop a stronger, collective voice which will either accept, reject, or modify the morsels which we are being fed.

 

References

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

               University Press.

Jones, M. and Ormwod, J. (Editors). (2015).  Time Travel in Popular Media.  Jefferson, NC: McFarland &

               Company, Inc.