Customer Reviews

Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I can't say enough good things about this book. Jekins critiques "traditional" convergence theory about converging media and argues that the instigator of convergence is the need for new patterns of consumption, not production. Each chapter addresses how fans of a particular program reorganize their media experiences to better participate in the discussion, analysis and, at times, production of future episodes or events.

Because he demonstrates through example, the text is approachable to the scholar and the layman alike. The subjects themselves make the read interesting, but Jenkins also brings his wisdom to bear at opportune moments. Highly reocmmmended for those who study media, culture or technology adoption.

Henry Jenkins, Director of the Contemporary Media Studies Program at MIT, attempts in his acclaimed 2006 book Convergence Culture to look beyond the hype surrounding new media and instead analyze the cultural transformations that occur when these new media meet the old. Arguing against the idea that convergence should be understood primarily as a technological process, he instead demonstrates that it represents a cultural shift as consumers are urged to seek out new information and make connections among dispersed media content.

Rather than writing from an objective viewpoint, Jenkins instead describes what the media landscape looks like from the perspective of various localized people. He also is quick to dismiss the idea that in the future consumers will get all their media from one device, referring to this prognostication as the `black box fallacy.' Through his book, Jenkins explains how convergence is both a top-down corporate-driven process and a bottom-up consumer-driven process.

Throughout the six chapters making up the first edition of the book, Jenkins looks at a number of scenarios that highlight the way culture is shifting based on the intersection of new and old media. He describes in detail the fans of the television show Survivor who have banded together online to form communities that attempt to find out as many secrets about the show as is possible, using this example as a microcosm to explain how knowledge can be formed within a community that would be impossible to be formed by individuals working separately. He also discusses the ramifications that interactive audience-driven voting has had on the hit American Idol, and the potential backlash against its new brand of corporate sponsorship.

In the realm of movies, much attention is paid to the Wachowski Brothers' Matrix trilogy and the various other ways the universe was used by different media. Calling the practice `transmedia storytelling,' Jenkins explains how the unified universe across the multiple media gave viewers of the films an insight into the greater intended meaning and helped inform seeming gaps in knowledge that caused the later movies to be panned by critics. He then goes on to describe the way fans have created their own content in the Star Wars universe and the issues that have been raised. The explosion of fan fiction in the fictional world of the Harry Potter books is used as an example of the copyright problems both producers of fan content and owners of intellectual property face, while advocating such practices help young people learn ways of communicating and collaborating that are antithetical to the education they receive in schools.

Finally, Jenkins analyzes the way that politics is changing as traditional means for campaigning are being influenced and in some cases superceded by the new media options available online. Even with an afterward written seemingly towards the end of 2007, this is the weakest part of the book not because of anything Jenkins did or did not include, but due to the timeliness of issue. While analyzing the way Howard Dean was able to raise so much money in 2004 is worthwhile, without the discussion of how President Obama seized these ideas and raised millions upon millions of dollars causes the arguments to seem outdated.

Formatting errors abound in the book, with dozens of hyphens being placed in the middle of words for seemingly no reason. Often lines just skip down halfway through a sentence and at least once a block quote just ended, completely obscuring the point for which it was quoted. In all this is only mildly distracting, but it does tend to jar one out of Jenkins's narrative.

Timeliness is a problem with any book concerning technology, and can be seen in the other chapter as well, though not to as great a degree. As new media continues to explode and the changes to our culture become more and more drastic each day, Jenkins's book will become more and more obsolete. Yet his arguments are illuminating and his writing style is easy to read and able to be assimilated by scholarly audiences as easily as by educated laymen. For those interested not only in the types of new media that are currently emerging but also in the effects said media is having on our culture, Convergence Culture is a book you should read.

Henry Jenkins says, in the Introduction to Convergence Culture, "This book is about the relationship between three concepts -- media convergence, participatory culture, and collective intelligence." He then defines the terms and, a few pages later, still in the Intro, writes, "My aim is...modest. I want to describe some of the ways that convergence thinking is reshaping American popular culture and, in particular, the ways it is impacting the relationship between media audiences, producers, and content."

In contrast to McLuhan who is bold to a fault in Understanding Media (read just before Convergence), but bold and not afraid to be wrong, and that's important. Jenkins aims low, way too low. "Modest" here translates to not trying very hard. His few pages on Wikipedia are very good indeed (he's a proponent, so am I). But otherwise, from Convergence Culture one learns:

1) people get information and entertainment from a variety of media,
2) people can get the same information from a variety of media,
3) fans are passionate about their TV shows and classic popular movies and books and some like and utilize spoilers,
and, repeatedly,
4) the program he directs at MIT studies these phenomena.

Sorry, that's not enough for me.

Henry Jenkins has a natural knack for taking any topic and making it instantly relatable and intensely gripping. I was privileged to have received a preview of part of this book before its publication, and I can honestly say that it's as entertaining as it is informative. Here he tackles completely new territory - the ever-evolving world of media and technology and how it impacts our society and the corporate world. This proverbial David & Goliath struggle for control of new media, the challenges of the inherent legalities, and the birth of new mediums; all of this complexity is laid out in the pages of 'Convergence Culture', and who better to guide us through this mish-mash landscape of new media than one of our foremost experts on media and popular culture?
Anyone interested in the Internet, media publication, fan rights, grassroots movements, blogs, and anything else that typically only your children or grandchildren can explain to you, would find this book not only informative, but riveting. I highly recommend it, and not just because I have a chapter almost all to myself (check out the chapter on Harry Potter and the infamous PotterWar - Alastair and I say Hello.) :)
Pick up a copy of Convergence Culture. You'll be glad you did.

Convergence Culture by Henry Jenkins gives an in-depth and critical look at how the World Wide Web has transformed traditional media to be more amalgamate, multi-level, and less isolated, allowing for a more participatory culture, and illustrating the power of collective intelligence. As the Internet blurs the lines that once separated specific mediums Jenkins writes, "Convergence represents a cultural shift as consumers are encouraged to seek out new information and make connections among dispersed media content" (p.3). By focusing on a few major examples of how the media is shifting from isolated experiences into transmedia storytelling, Jenkins explains the relationship between convergence, participatory culture, and collective intelligence, illustrating how the "new media" is "impacting relationships between media audiences, producers and content" (p.12). He explains that because aspects of our everyday lives pass through various media, convergence has created a new type of media consumer who communicates on several platforms. To reach the new consumer, traditional media must also be present on different forums.

Jenkins explains most of these "discussions" throughout Convergence Culture within the context of specific pop-culture and political examples. The first of which begins in his first chapter, Spoiling Survivor, where he outlines the impact of a communal reception of the TV show "Survivor." By looking at one of the most democratic uses of the Internet (message boards), Jenkins analyzes Survivor fans' interactions with "spoilers" of the show, calling it "collective intelligence in practice" (p.28). Here, he explains the idea that while not one person knows everything, everyone knows something and can bring some small bit of relevance to the discussion to, in this case, find a solution. In addition, Jenkins evaluates how this type of "bottom-up" collaboration can be both helpful and detrimental to brands and franchises.

Jenkins explores the grassroots culture of the Internet more in his second chapter where he discusses American Idol, a TV show made for audience participation. He begins the chapter by explaining the power of marketing brands via multiple "transactions," instead of using traditionally isolated mediums. He writes, "The experience should not be contained within a single media platform, but should extend across as many media as possible" (p.69). This method allows for advertisers, like Coca Cola, to be more than intellectual property; they are emotional capital. And in such a participant-oriented show that allows viewers to text in their votes, fans become more involved with the brand and may even become "brand advocates" (p.73). Jenkins explains, "Participation within such communities does not simply reaffirm their brand affiliation but also empowers these groups to assert their own demands on the company" (p.80).

In his third chapter, Jenkins looks at how the Matrix franchise uses several platforms to reach its multifaceted fan base, and considers it "entertainment for the age of media convergence, integrating multiple texts to create a narrative so large that it cannot be contained within a single medium" (p.96). As he explains how the transmedia story flows across different media forums, he illustrates how each medium brings a "distinctive and valuable contribution to the whole" (p.98). This way, the story may stretch far beyond the original plot, and the user creates it, and Jenkins explains that the convergence of media has allowed for such occurrences. However, Jenkins says that when creators have their hands in developing the other mediums, like video games, interactive Web creations and such, the stories are more likely to gain a following and develop further. His key point in the chapter was that while not all users will choose to "go deep" with the material, creators must allow the option.

Jenkins then explains the success of the Star Wars franchise and how users have become co-creators, or participants, in the stories via the Web and the onset of the digital age. Here, he explains the difference between participation and interactivity. Jenkins writes, "Interactivity refers to the ways that new technologies have been designed to be more responsive to consumer feedback...Participation, on the other hand, is shaped by the cultural and social protocols" (p.137). So, while the creators decide interactivity, and users may interact with what is given, participation allows users to become creators of the story. However, this blurring of creation on the Web has caused both problems and new directions. Jenkins explores two schools of thought on this issue: prohibitionists, who are usually characterized by traditional media, that try to limit all creation outside the originators, and collaborationists, who are usually led by "new media" and digital groups, that allow grassroots intermediaries to help promote the franchised. Jenkins likens this dichotomy with the battle between folk culture (grassroots campaigns) and mass culture (commercialism), as he cites several examples of how specific Star Wars spoofs and recreations have faired with George Lucas and the commercial media in terms of copyright infringement.

Moving beyond the television and silver screen, Jenkins then discusses the Harry Potter franchise in light of new media. Besides explaining some of the campaigns and movements against its content by conservative groups, Jenkins explores whether schools are doing a well enough job in educating students in media, and whether or not they are using media to teach. Using one young girl who created her own website around the Harry Potter series as an example of the power of the online forum, Jenkins analyzes the power of collaboration in teaching and using the Web to allow for a fuller experience from which one can learn. Jenkins writes, "In a participatory culture, the entire community takes on some responsibility for helping newbies find their way," in contrast to a classroom where only a teacher is the guide. He then explores the traditional idea of fair use, and wonders if the notion should be revisited in the digital age.

In his final example of media convergence, Jenkins visits the political realm and focuses on the "changes in communications systems and cultural norms" of the media and the democratization of the Web (p.219) in relation to the 2004 presidential election. In his discussion, Jenkins cites Howard Dean's (and later, John Kerry's) use of the Web to raise funds, and that his early Internet success was a "tipping point" for how we view media. Instead of the television (a broad, "top-down" medium) reigning, the Internet (a niche-oriented, "bottom-up" medium) finally had become the dominant forum. Jenkins says that using tools like Photoshop, fans and activists are more able to manipulate images to make a political statement, most evident in the aftermath of the Florida recount. He also mentions the fact that young people were being informed more by entertainment media like the Daily Show than traditional news organizations, showing an unprecedented convergence in media.

In his conclusion, Jenkins again highlights the fact that society is still trying to decide the exact ethical codes and social contracts to follow in these trial-and-error times. He states the problems and prevalence of media concentration and cites Chris Anderson's idea of the Long Tail as a viable route to many of the conglomerate and economic problems we see today on the "free" web. Jenkins closes the book by restating, "The power of the grassroots media is that it diversifies; the power of the broadcast media is that it amplifies. That's why we should be concerned with the flow between the two (p.268). Jenkins encourages his readers to rethink the goals of media education, as he explains the power within convergence culture, as full participants.

While Jenkins realizes that convergence cannot be fully understood at this point (or at least in 2006 when the book was written), his desire in writing the book was to inform the public on "discussions that are taking place" so they might have some input "into decisions that will dramatically change their relationship to media" (p.13). This allows even those who are not directly involved in many of the digital issues to participate on some level, as it affects everyone who uses media. Jenkins does a good job explaining many of the complicated jargon that might be foreign to those who have not used certain mediums or are not involved with the example literature he uses. Jenkins wrote Convergence Culture in a way that allows readers to walk away with a good understanding of his topics, no matter what their digital literacy. Jenkins also succeeds in sticking to his points, while not deviating far from the original intent, often repeating examples of converging media, participatory culture, and collective intelligence within each chapter. Throughout the text, Jenkins makes countless allusions to these central points, allowing the reader to deeply relate and care about the effect media is having on our culture.

Jenkins brings up several great points about how our culture currently views the media. One of my favorite quotes regards media literacy, which states, "Just as we would not traditionally assume that someone is literate if they can read but not write, we should not assume that someone possesses media literacy if they can consume but not express themselves" (p.176). This is one point that illustrates the vast misunderstanding and divide conglomerate media has with the grassroots campaigns the web endorses. By allowing users to consume but not create is a robbery of users' freedom in some ways. As Jenkins also mentioned on p. 142, "Marketers have turned our children into walking, talking billboards who wear logos on their T-shirts, sew patches on their backpacks, plaster stickers on their lockers, hang posters on their walls, but they must not, under penalty of law, post them on their home pages. Somehow, once consumers choose when and where to display those images, their active participation in the circulation of brands suddenly becomes a moral outrage and a threat to the industry's economic well-being." Kudos to Jenkins for highlighting the importance of these issues. As this new media system develops, we are equal collaborators with conglomerates and the voice of many can change how our culture sees the media.

One very small area I wished Jenkins would have mentioned more is an overview of what other media companies are doing that are innovative and experimental. While his focus on only a few major examples of convergence culture was well planned and effective, it would have been interesting to see what companies are taking chances on, that are working well. Beyond the traditional forms such as television, gaming, or literature, I was also interested to see what interactive companies are doing that may not fit in those categories, like virtual reality or web applications that find trends in the social collective, getting away form simple message boards or surveys. I'm not sure why, but the only medium he seems to have missed was any discussion about radio. All in all, Jenkin's Convergence Culture is absolutely worth the read. While I found it to be choppy at parts due to my disinterest in the specific topic, I highly recommend it to anyone who is interested at all in how our media is changing due to the onset of the Internet. It was a little slow-going in the beginning, but it picked up as the discussions heated up, and it was very educational on the world of internet marketing and trends. I give it 5 stars out of 5!

Henry Jenkins is one of the least dogmatic, most pragmatic voices on contemporary media culture. Unlike many other critics of electronic games and culture, he doesn't slavishly follow any particular school of thought; Jenkins consistently charts his own path, based primarily on research rather than preconceived notions. Like Lawrence Lessig, Henry Jenkins is always worth reading.

That said, this is not a book for specialists. It's most effective as an introduction to "convergence culture"; experienced participants in digital community will find much of the book to be familiar ground. I hoped to see Jenkins extend his arguments, with more detailed exploration of each case and more thorough contextualization of the academic theory he references (e.g. the work of Pierre Levy).

In presenting his perspectives, Jenkins also neglects significant details of some of his supporting examples - e.g. the execrable state of code for "Enter the Matrix", or LucasArts' infamously counterproductive community management for "Star Wars: Galaxies". Such omissions are particularly surprising because they would deepen his case rather than compromising it. His point, after all, isn't to draw a clear path to the future, but rather to map the multivalent dependencies and challenges which must be negotiated along the way.

Ultimately, "Convergence Culture" is only an introduction, a brief safari into lands still marked (on mass-cultural maps) as "frontiers undefined". Readers already exploring those frontiers will encounter few surprises. Newcomers (latecomers?) to "convergence culture", however, will find no better place to start.

Jenkins is a genius. Not only does he provide a theoretically grounded book explaining cultural mass media...but he writes in a manner the masses can understand. Bravo! Convergence culture...the place of multiple media collisions and smooth traffic flow of participatory culture. This book is a must read for any scholar interested in understanding "new" literacies.

What I loved about this book was the approachability of the language. Rarely do you see an academic write in a style that's friendly to audiences not in the ivory tower, but Jenkins produced a book I thoroughly enjoyed, as opposed to a laborious, slogging read I usually expect with academic treatises.

His knowledge about pop culture, culture theory, convergence culture is explained excellently and well balanced with examples that focus on fan culture and consumer culture, such as survivor, star wars, and Harry Potter. Jenkins shows how these communities interact, negotiate, and recreate culture.

I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in media studies, pop culture, or related works. I know it will prove useful for me.

Este libro de Henry Jenkins supuso uno de mis grande obsesiones bibliófilas desde que fue lanzado.
El tema de la convergencia, el choque entre los medios antiguos y el empoderamiento que trae el Internet (como punta del iceberg) supone uno de los temas más relevantes e interesantes. De verdad que después de leer Wikinomics, sentía que recién entraba y me asomaba a una ventana maravillosa la cual me empezaba a abrir la cabeza en términos de entender la etapa por la que atravesamos. Y es ahí donde aparece Jenkins con un libro que no solo es entretenido y simple de leer, sino que es un verdadero aporte para entender los cambios de paradigma en la comunicación, convergencia de medios y participación ciudadana.

Lo entretenido parte con los títulos de cada capitulo (algo no menor para enchancharnos en la lectura) los cuales vinculas eventos populares con temas a tratar. Así tenemos ejemplos como "Spoiling Survivor", "Buying into American Idol" o "The Matrix and transmedia storytelling". Cada uno, como bien decía antes, gira en torno a un gran evento cultural que de una u otra forma representa el tema a tratar.



Así es como "Spoiling" trata sobre la inteligencia colectiva aplicada al reality show "Survivor". Aquí Jenkins nos cuenta como la comunidad de fanáticos organizada en foros online lograba reunir información que iba desde averiguar donde se filmaría la próxima temporada, hasta adivinar el orden de eliminación de los participantes mucho antes de que saliese al aire. Lo interesante era ver como una persona aportaba con su expertise, y muchas otras en distintos estados e incluso países potenciaban eso y lo mejoraban logrando un resultado impresionante.

El episodio de American Idol habla sobre el provecho que las marcas sacan de una franquicia tan grande como este programa de talentos. Todo parte cuando el marketing de interrupción (al que estamos acostumbrados) nos empieza a hartar. Las personas tienen nuevas formas de evitar la publicidad y de consumir los medios. Por lo tanto las marcas deben resolver cómo llegar a sus consumidores. Es ahí donde nace esta forma de advertainment donde se mezcla entretenimiento con publicidad y las marcas se vuelven parte integral de un programa como Idol. Pero Jenkins va más allá y habla de cómo la gente consume estos programas y cómo, a través de los comentarios, votaciones y participación es capaz de reafirmar sus valores al compararse con los protagonistas de los shows.

No entrare en detalle a hablar de cada capitulo, pero espero que se hagan una idea de cómo el libro va construyéndose a partir de ejemplos esclarecedores y muy entretenidos, los cuales van acompañados de abstract de otros ejemplos "a menor escala".

El punto aquí es entender las nuevas formas en que se consumen los medios, la participación de las masas en la toma de decisiones, los cambios paradigmáticos en la tecnología y la distribución de nuestro tiempo libre, así como elementos como la colaboración, el crowdsourcing o los smartmobs.



Eso si, es muy importante entender que el Internet NO matara a medios tradicionales como la televisión, la radio o las revistas, sino que ambos convergerán, se potenciaran y deberán aprender unos de otros. Si bien el Internet parece ser un resumidero de TODO y nos da mucha mas participación como productores de contenido, los otros medios siguen siendo relevantes, concitan el interés de las personas y vendrán a complementar el mundo online. No se trata de destruir, sino de converger.

Jenkins es un experto del tema. Hace años que viene analizando estos temas y trabajando desde el MIT. Ha publicado bastante libros que tratan de explicar la influencia de los medios, su rol en nuestras vidas y de cierta forma, anticipar tendencias y elementos que no terminan por cuajar. Es de ahí gravitante la importancia de este libro para entender el escenario actual de la comunicación , la publicidad y el rol que los medios juegan y jugaran en el futuro inmediato.

Una lectura imperdible y altamente recomendable si se mezcla con -por ejemplo- "Living brands" o Wikinomics.
PEACE OUT

I had never considered some of the points that Jenkins puts forth in this book. Convergence Culture is a book about many of the things that technology is incorporating into our lives that we are slowly taking for granted.

If you have ever been interested in how technology is changing how we view the world, this is a good book to look at. The chapters focusing on Survivor, The Matrix, and Harry Potter fanficton are all of great interest.