For Christmas, I got an ipod touch. Before that, all I had was a simple mp3 player/recording device. I really didn't know too much about ipods, except that some people could access the internet with them in addition to playing music. Was I in for a shock!
My new ipod touch literally does everything but clean the sink! I can read books on it, listen to music, record memos or lectures, access the internet and send emails. It has a game application, a calendar, a timer, weather updates, a calculator...and the list goes on and on!
As I was reading the class text, Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide by Henry Jenkins, it struck me how much and how fast the media world is changing.
Now, not only are media ideas converging, but hardware as well. The ipod touch is a perfect example. Jenkins explains that no longer can you simply buy a phone that only has one function (or, in this case, an ipod that has only one function)--the phone (or ipod) must be programed to perform many functions.
In this case, the delivery technologies have changed in the way people consume media--the ipod is now not just used for music, but also for reading, accessing internet, and getting news updates. However, even though the "delivery technology" has changed, the medium has not changed.
According to Jenkins, mediums (such as music) never die--the delivery technologies are the things that die and/or change over time.
In class this morning, someone posed the thought that there have been some mediums that have died--for instance: oral storytelling--and that now, people go to the theatre or see a movie to have the same experience.
I disagree. Oral storytelling, theatre, and film are merely different types of "delivery technologies." The true content of oral storytelling, theatre, and film--a story, tale, history--hasn't really changed.
Jenkins is right when he says that the medium will never die--but the modes of delivery will as modern technology progresses.
But what do you think? Is Jenkins wrong? Are there some mediums that will die out?
Cheers!
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The iPod Touch is definitely a good example of convergence. And if you look at all its different uses, it is clear that mediums don't really die. You can use your iPod to listen to recorded music, watch films/video, watch TV shows, read newspapers and magazines, read books, etc. Of course, I do sometimes wonder whether the cinema (which requires theaters and big screens and popcorn) as a medium will die. But it still seems to be going strong.
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