~Convergence~

The internet is something that is a part of our daily lives so much so that we don’t even realise just how extraordinary it is and how much it has developed over the last 30 or so years, how media has developed in general. A move from analog to digital media has revolutionised the way in which media is produced, distributed and consumed.

Take a look at the timeline above. How many of these devices do you know? Better yet, which ones have you used? It would appear that many of these technologies have become obsolete as what happens. Technology improves, new devices are created and the old is shoved in a box for the day it can be sold on Ebay for a pretty buck. But have old media types truly been forgotten?

Jenkins considered that “Old media are not being displaced. Rather, their functions and status are shifted by the introduction of new technologies,”. It’s interesting, in a way the internet and other modern media technologies are a reflection and combination of their predecessors. A convergence. Email was once post. We’ve seen (some of us) the rise and fall of record, cassette and disc music, now in which is dominantly streamed or downloaded online. Television has ascended to various online streaming services and so on.

Yes, many of these devices still exist and are still in use today. But looking deeper. Can any of these devices do the job of another? Can any single one of them do as much as the internet can?

~Until next time~