Digital Convergence: Advertising and New Media - 4251 0546

Digital Convergence: Advertising and New Media

As society grows and technology becomes increasingly more integrated with our lifestyle changing the way we interact. The consumers needs have changed and in order to keep up with them media forms are coming together with the help from technological advancements. This is process is called 'digital convergence' (Dwyer 2010). "Media convergence is more than simply a technological shift. Convergence alters the relationship between existing technologies, industries, markets, genres and audiences" (Jenkins 2006, p. 15). This essay will look at digital convergence in regard to the office of film and literature classification (OFLC) and the how advertising has had to adapt in order to reach its market using EB Games as a case study.

A visual representation of digital convergence

The driving factors in digital convergence are technology and standardisation (Muller, 1999). As we become more tech savvy due to rapid technological advancements more and more people are willing to embrace new technologies. The mobile phone is a clear example of this, not only are mobiles used to make makes calls but now they are able to connect to the internet, check emails, play games, act as an MP3 device and many more features which can be obtained from a digital market place. As people are open to new concepts developers are willing to make innovative products. The mobile phone is the perfect example of digital convergence as it is no longer bound to the one media form but exhibits multiple. Having a device capable of these things means that "the mobile phone has overtaken the fixed-line telephone and outstripped the internet in terms of new connections" (Sinclair, Wilken 2009, p. 427) which makes it a huge interest to advertisers although it remains relatively untapped (Sinclair, Wilken 2009). Technology alone does not result in convergence. There needs to be an agreement over which protocols to use and this in not determined by technology but by socio-economic factors.

As the internet becomes more accessible a new form of advertising is being used. Specific advertisements are being displayed whenever you use a search engine with only relevant ads being shown. Spurgeon (2008) argues that the development of the search engine is one of the best things to have happened to informational advertising. The video 'Healthy Habits' showcases how people use search engines to find out just about anything as well as providing an example of convergence. Keep an eye out for search related advertising.

         

Case Study: OFLC

As media forms continue to merge it becomes harder for them to be governed by the old rules. The rapidly changing media front requires updates to be made to the laws and bills relating to all types of media. As Muller (1999) notes the ease of which data can be transferred across countries means that without changing the current regulations they will no longer matter. The OFLC has had to make amendments to the 'Classification (Publications, Films and Computer Games) Bill' in order to address online and mobile games. In addition, the OFLC has introduced the R18+ rating for video games. This is in part because of the large number of gamers wanting this classification but also many restricted titles were being obtained from overseas and played anyway. To help with classifying online games a classification generator has been created so that web hosts can properly label the material shown. Other problems arise when advertisers create ads specifically for internet usage as there are different classification guidelines for online media and television media. This means that ads which would not normally be allowed on TV are still shown the internet. A large concern with this new media is whether the government is ruining the right of the public to participate in their culture due to the censorship of intellectual property (Jenkins 2004).

Case Study EB Games

Eb Games' YouTube banner

"Nowhere in the current digital technology landscape is the process of ‘blurring the lines between media’ more apparent than with the uses and applications of gaming practices and technologies. Here the overlaps between new media and media interfaces are becoming significant as games technologies and practices are becoming more pervasive as commonplace social practices" (Freitas, Griffiths 2008, p. 11). Gaming consoles are perhaps the best example of convergence. The PlayStation 3 acts as an entertainment unit with the ability to play games,  connect to the internet and is ablu-ray player. Being a games distributor Eb Games needs to keep up with the technological advancements as well as the changes in social behaviour.

People are spending more time on the internet that ever before it is important for companies to go online. Many companies set up Facebook pages as well as Twitter accounts as a way to connect to their customers. Eb Games has also set up a YouTube channel where it shows trailers for upcoming games, news from the gaming world and to promote events the company is holding such as the Eb expo. In order to run these accounts Eb hire people as part of their social network team. The aim of reaching out to the people online is so that they can advertise to a market they know are interested. The ideal situation would be for the social teams to get people excited and make the experience fun so that not only do the customers remain happy but also so they 'spread the word' amongst their friends. Using the older conventional methods of advertising, i.e print and television, are no longer effective. In order to promote business advertising strategies must adapt to the change brought about by digital convergence.


The way we access media is changing. Multiple media types are being brought together in one device. The internet acts as a prototype of a convergent media market (Sinclair, Wilken 2009). Through the internet we are able to listen to music, watch films, stream live TV and even use it to make calls. Unsurprisingly the internet is also full of advertisements. Convergent media posses problems to government bodies who are trying to regulate what is shown in their countries but also to advertisers who can no longer easily reach a wide market. They have become more reliant on people to spread their product in order for it to gain exposure. The phenomenon of digital convergence has changed the way in which we interact with the world and how the world interacts with us.

References

Unit Readings

• Dwyer, T. (2010). 'Media Convergence', Berkshire: McGraw Hill, pp. 1-23.

• Jenkins, H. (2006). 'Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide', New York: New York University Press, pp. 1-24.

• Spurgeon, C. (2008) 'Advertising and New Media', Oxon: Routledge, pp.24-45.

Recommended Readings

• Jenkings, H. (2004), 'The Cultural Logic of Media Convergence', International Journal of Cultural Studies, vol. 7, no. 1

• Sinclair, J., Wilken, R. (2009), 'Waiting for the Kiss of Life', Convergence: The International Journal of Research into New Media Technologies, vol. 15, no. 5

Independent Research

• Freita, S., Griffiths, M. (2008) 'The convergence of gaming practices with other media forms: what potential for learning? A review of the literature', Learning, Media and Technology, vol. 33, no. 1

• Mueller, M. (1999), 'Digital Convergence and its Consequences', The Public, vol. 6, no. 3

Electronic Media

• Healthy Habits (2010), 'SearchStories' (released 19 August 2010), Available from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FKMdU5jc278&feature=plcp [Accessed 29th August, 2012]. Standard YouTube license 

• Deragon, J. (2008), 'Digital-Convegence', [picture], Available at:  http://www.relationship-economy.com/2008/10/what-is-isoquantic-shifts/digital-convergence/ [Accessed 29th August, 2012]. Attribution license

• Australian Classification Board (2006), 'R18+ Classification', Sourced from:  http://parliamentflagpost.blogspot.com.au/2011/06/r18-games-classification.html [Accessed 30th August, 2012]. Attribution license 

• Eb Games (2010), 'Eb Social media', [picture], Created from a screenshot of Eb Games' YouTube channel:  http://www.youtube.com/user/ebgamesau?feature=results_main [Accessed 29th August, 2012]. Attribution license