Blog #6 - The Final One

Convergence, according to Henry Jenkins, is "the flow of content across multiple media platforms, the cooperation between multiple media industries, and the migratory behavior of media audiences." Not only is content converging with different mediums all around us, but we, living in a convergence culture, are converging with the media and ideas as well. Jenkins has a firm grasp on what convergence is in our culture, explaining not only the interactions content has with different devices, media, and companies, but also the interactions with people. Take for example Jenkins' "Bert is Evil" example; the content (Bert in a picture with Osama Bin Laden) came from a single high-schooler named Dino Ignacio. The picture, starting as a simple school project, was picked up by anti-American protesters in the Middle East and proceeded to move across many forms of media such as television and the internet, giving Ignacio a cult following. Here is a prime example of what Jenkins was talking about: Convergence referring to both the converging of content mediums and companies to spread a story and the converging of media producers and consumers to have more interaction and input in the creation of material.

Convergence allows for audiences and fans of different media to engage with what they enjoy, and because of this audiences are able to engage with the creators of content, allowing for the...ahem...creative engagement of the audiences to help shape the media they enjoy. According to Virginia Bailey, "current technologies provide the means necessary for the involvement of fans, customers, and patrons in communicating, rewriting, defining, and gaining assistance or providing assistance in a wide array of venues." It's easier than ever to have your voice heard in the media creation process, allowing creators and fans to interact more personally and helping to establish a solid community. And it's through these communities that the audiences are able to engage! When head content creators interact with their fans via social networks, polls, streams, videos, etc., people are able to interact with others, comment about their ideas and thoughts, and become more engaged. The convergence of technology and our culture both have a huge influence on the creation of these communities. Being able to use phones, computers, television, and other mediums to listen and engage with the media, the audience, and the content creators merge all of these mediums together, passing the message from one to another to shape the message and its ideas and converge the communities engaging in the media.