Network Technology

What is convergence?

Technological Convergence

As technology progresses , we being able to access different media outlets from one media source (e.g thanks to advances in technology , the mobile phone has now become a single media source for various media outlets including internet , radio and television)

‘These multiple forms of media convergence are leading us toward a digital renaissance - a period of transition and transformation that will affect all aspects of our lives’
Jenkins , H (2001)

Technology form

Iphone :underline text
*Internet web browser
*TV (BBC iplayer, Sky Sports news)
*Inbuilt radio station
*Organizers
*Apps
*Camera and Video
*USB
*GPS
*Nitendo Wii

"The Wii is at its core a video game console, but it is really so much more than that. On the menu page, there is an option for uploading your photos from an SD card and it has the current weather and news stories. You can connect to the Internet over the Wii Wi-Fi Network to interact with other people and go shopping" Leah , M (2010)

How do we connect them?

In terms of IP Convergence :
Data travels across protocols
It travels across computers allowing them to communicate making the internet possible
When the VOIP (voice over internet protocol) was introduced it was possible to make phone calls using the current internet technology, and all that was required was an original phone adapter
With a VOIP interface installed it became possible to converging voice and data into one single platform. This is not the converging limit. Video was also integrated, making a transmission of video through the internet possible and there are now also other IP convergence protocols.

Why do we connect them?

The benefits of technological convergence :
It reduces maintenance costs as you only have the one platform to operate and maintain.
It doesn't require multiple technicians to work and maintain multiple networks as it will all be channel through a single network
"Another benefit is that IP convergence allows companies to create a more mobile workforce. Employees can access corporate functions through the company's network, often by using a virtual private network(VPN). A VPN helps maintain corporate security by separating business traffic from other Internet traffic. Remote employees can use the Internet to access everything from corporate files to voicemail messages. Since IP systems are interoperable and modifiable, they're flexible and adaptive. As new functions and features become available through technological advancements, companies and organizations can incorporate them into their existing systems without the need for new infrastructure" (Strickland , J , 2011)

Who uses them once they're connected?

Businesses are one of the main users of covergence as it is a huge opportunity for any company to be more efficent with faster running networks and it helps the company in becoming more streamline as it requires less maintanence and less operational costs and personnel .

Everyone as individuals are being effected by convergence everyday from using your mobile phone to organise your emails to using a computer for online gaming. Convergence has become intergrated into our everyday lives and comes in all kinds of forms and will only grow as technological convergence continues to evolve.

The history of Technological convergence

"In looking back, the convergence of phones began long before the cellular revolution; combining a radio's mobility with a telephone's person-to-person interface. While its advancement was made in slow, incremental steps within roughly fifty years, cellular technology was largely undeveloped until Bell Labs developed electronics in the 1960s". Lewis , A. (2007).
this extract shows convergence has been a evolution of technology which has been slowly intergrated into society slowly for many years.
"The next step in versatility was brought about by the larger information boom in the world. Nokia began the wave in Europe in 1996 with its “Communicator,” A GSM mobile phone that was also a computer. While this device encountered little success in the market, it opened up Pandora's Box in terms of convergence capabilities".Lewis , A. (2007).
This excert shows how the internet was introduced to the mobile phone media platform in terms of convergence , "cell phone circuitry" was then built into other platforms such as laptops and cameras and the next level of convergence came in the form of the camera

How has it socially affected us?

Technological convergence has bought many things together and made it easier for us to quickly use many digital products in one go. However this easy access has led to us using technology a lot more and for more things and becoming such a large part of many peoples lives that some have become addicted.
"48% of teens visit social networking websites daily or more often; 26% visit once a day, 22% visit several times a day." (Lenhart & Madden, 2000)
It is used within businesses, education, playing games, socialising and communicating. This si linking together time spent relaxing and time spent working, as you can check work information on the same devices you use for entertainment now, "the virtual, social and physical world are colliding, merging and coordinating" (Rheingold, 2000)

Social networking sites

Screenshot2011-12-02at142930.png
Online social networking is an online community, often with a common interest that communicate with each other over a web site. On most you can view other people's profiles and use these to converse with others on it. They are extremely popular nowadays as they can be accessed over many forms of technology so easily which is why there is so many for so many different purposes and different interests. They are especially popular with teenagers because of how easy they are to communicate with each other and because they are free to use most of the time "48% of teens visit social networking websites daily or more often; 26% visit once a day, 22% visit several times a day." (Lenhart & Madden, 2000). Features often included on social networking sites include friends, comments, private messaging, chat applications, photo and video sharing and many more depending upon what the main focus of the site is. However, as with most things there are risks with social networking sites, one being the trust of it, you can't fully tell over the internet whether someone is who they actually say they are. People make friends over the internet using social networking sites and it's difficult to know if the person is real and often people will meet up with their "online friend" but this can often lead to an attack as the person has lied about their identity for this purpose, "In the United Kingdom the number of social networkers who experienced attacks on social networks jumped from 6% in 2009 to 12% in 2010 to 15% in 2011" (Webroot, 2011)

Mobile phones

Mobile phones are currently one of the most developed, portable pieces of technology. Since they have been able to connect to the internet anywhere the amount of functions they have on them has increased drastically. “It is estimated that there are eight times as many mobile phones as fixed lines, three times as many mobile phones as personal computers and nearly twice as many mobile phones as television sets.” (UNCATD, 2002). Many people use it as an organiser as they can be notified when they receive e-mails via the device, which is helpful for businesses who work on the move. It can also be used to do work on with applications available for them, which is why so many people are using them as personal computers now, as they are much smaller and easier to carry around than a laptop and can still do many of the same functions. They are being used as TV sets more now as many channels now have an online website where you can catch up with TV shows for free, for example BBC iPlayer, which is also available as an app, which makes it even easier to watch the show on the move, rather than on a TV.
The use of mobile phones for browing the internet is something that has increased highly over the past year expecially, as the diagram from Tecmark (2011)shows below.

mobile-traffic.jpg

Media convergence

Media convergence is merging the products (e.g. a newspaper, magazine, tv show, radio channel, website) though a range of digital media platforms. This is able to happen now because of how developed technological convergence is. This use of convergence keeps the audience interested as they can use a variety of media, including interactive ones, to access the product. Many of the converged products can now be accessed from piece of technology, for example: A mobile phone can listen to a brands radio channel, view the website and watch the tv channel.

Example:
Kerrang is a weekly selling music magazine which was originally just a magazine. However it now has many other platforms including:

  • Kerrang website - www.kerrang.com
  • Kerrang radio
  • Kerrang TV
  • The Kerrang music awards
  • The Kerrang tour

It uses the other platforms it has to advertise itself and the other platforms it owns. This is the case with many media forms now.
logo.gif

References:

Images:

page revision: 30, last edited: 05 Dec 2011 19:03
EditTags History Files Print Site tools+ Options
Unless otherwise stated, the content of this page is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 License