Is it acceptable to claim that convergent technologies enable greater audience participation?

The media has created a way of getting the involvement and participation of audiences in specific filmic texts through the use of convergent technologies.  This has been facilitated through the use of SMS and online voting, as well as online communication between fans of the same genre.  Through these blogs and the research undertaken, one may be able to state that convergent technologies do enable greater audience participation.

What other dilemmas arise with convergent technologies and audience participation?

Through further readings, an additional problem was highlighted by Murray (2007) and that is those making up “niche communities” online have a different perspective on these issues than those in the “real world communities”. The Internet gives people control to express themselves as they please. It is this theory of user control which is at the heart of the new technologies providing a broadcasting platform for viewers.  The dilemma for regulators therefore, is how to balance the need for an enforceable minimum level of protection, with the idea of user control which is at the heart of the new media.

Big Brother and Moral Panic

Moral panic is something which we, as an audience and as citizens were faced with when “certain” texts appeared on our screens hence the axing of the reality show “Big Brother”.   Author of “The Regulation of Cyberspace Control in the Online Environment”, Andrew Murray states that protecting minors and the public order requires measures to be taken to prevent children viewing harmful content on the one hand and also the prevention of broadcasts that may provoke misbehaviour.

From research material on this topic I have learnt that a programme that is usually broadcast late night could be available for download on-demand which would make it available outside parental control. Furthermore, the Internet brings more material into play from wider sources i.e. regarding shows which do not meet the Australian Television standards of classification. The problem is that if the new media platforms are to succeed, there needs to be a sufficient level of trust and confidence amongst users regarding that the content that can be viewed is not detrimental to children. While these concerns would appear hard to argue with, they cannot be so easily resolved. The problem is heightened due to it intruding on the global concern of Internet governance.

Genres on our screens.

I am intrigued by how many genres exist on our screen today. Usually, we immediately recognise dance, music, photography, film, sculpture, theatre, and puppetry when we see it and hear it. We even classify each of those art forms into various categories or genres, like jazz, ballet, realist, mystery, abstract, and drama. When it comes to screen studies there are so many genres and some are not so recognisable. This is why I resorted to the website of “Film Sub-Genres” www.filmsite.org to identify the genres that exist on our screens.

The main genres are as follow: Action, Comedy, Crime, Cult, Drama, Historical, Horror, Musical, Science Fiction, War, Western, Biographical, Chick-Flicks, Detective/Mystery, Disaster, Fantasy, Film Noir, Melodramas, Romance, Sports, Supernatural, Thriller and Suspense.

A new genre has arisen and that is Reality Television. “We created a new genre where we proved that ordinary people can be very interesting as characters, and where next-door people can do much more than everyone expected they could,” declares John De Mol, the Dutch head of Endemol Entertainment and inventor of “Big Brother”. This filmic text in this particular genre has created moral panic.

Further research on audience participation

I am quite interested in understanding how television targets its audiences and this is why I continued my research on this topic.  I have found that Mathieson states that “While it used to take three television spots for a product to register with its intended audience, it can now take as many as seventy”.  The question is then how do you reach media savvy audiences?  To answer this question I referred to my notes from a lecture I attended at the University of South Australia for “Media Literacies” with Dr. Susan Luckman as she states that there has been a shift from “consumer” to “user” as audiences are now active users of the media from “sit back” to “sit forward” where it is in our own interest to participate in the message being transmitted to us and thanks to wireless technologies, consumers are simply choosing which messages to tune into when, where and however they like.

What type of convergent technologies are available to consumers?

Today my focus will be to study how much of audience participation is reliant on convergent technologies and what types do consumers rely on.  I have located books through the university’s library catalogue which I have found to be useful in explaining what type of interactive mediums are there and how marketers use them to their advantage.  This information is in fact beneficial to both part of my studies whether it be the communication or the marketing aspect of it. 

I have learnt from Mathieson’s book “Branding Unbound” that through two-way wireless communications via SMS (short messaging service) and wireless web sites, everything becomes interactive. Television becomes interactive, as well as outdoor signage, POS (point of sale), and even the product itself becomes an invitation to have an interaction and bring value to consumers that is really quite unprecedented. Hence, the popular demand for ringtone download, mp3 players, and many other interactive mediums. This gives an insight into how the filmic text utilises genre to get the audience to participate through technological interactions.

Most of us use SMS on daily basis whether it be to place a vote on our favourite show or to silently communicate with others.  SMS has become an important aspect of communicating with audiences and it is a low cost method but with high level of effectiveness as consumers can retrieve and send messages in their own time.   

Big Brother and Convergent Technologies.

The reality television show, Big Brother has been responsible for integrating many media and communication channels in order to produce one interactive show. Media channels such as, print, radio, television, computing, Internet and telecommunications have converged to generate the success that shows like “Big Brother” are used to.

Whilst televisions enabled audiences to view the show in conjunction with the Internet, people were able to access live image and audio footage of the housemates at any time.  It is very interesting to note that Noam, Groebel and Gerbarg in “Internet Television” state that it is indeed the synergy between Internet services and television programs that add value to shows like Big Brother. 

I personally hardly had the time to follow the Big Brother show on T.V. due to its time slot but I was able to access its latest updates through its website.  This proved to be a successful medium for attracting a bigger audience which has facilitated audience interaction with the filmic text.

What will the role of television be in the interactive world of technology?

Being part of Generation X or the Net Generation, my interest in convergent technologies and the interactivity with web 2.0 has strengthened with the impact of the use of my mobile phone, mp3 player and bluetooth device. My argument to this research is based on whether convergent technologies enable greater audience participation. 

In the initial stages, television channels broadcast television programmes and telecommunication companies enabled phone calls whereas information technology processed information.  Combining all three together has given a rise to the convergence of technology.  Looking at the history of television and as a convergent medium, I have found that it is a subject less written about.  Now with the television evolving with the advancements of the digital world, one finds that it has become to converge with other mediums.  

An article in the Television Studies Reader by Brooker points out that Broadband wireless solutions are also a driving force and example of convergence. G3 mobile phones give consumers the ability to communicate via SMS, MMS, email and live video calls. They can download ringtones, MP3’s, emails, news information and entertainment straight from the Internet to their handset. Perhaps a more common setting for mobile phone technology is the ability to vote for people on reality television programs. I would like to focus on specific texts which rely on audience participation in order to fund the program and earn the ratings.  For this, I will begin my search on specific text such as “Big Brother” which relies highly on audience participation.

What is interactive convergence?

In order to answer this question, I referred to John Hartley’s book “Communication, Cultural and Media Studies, (2002) which defined Convergence as “the integration of telephony, computing and media (broadcasting) technologies and hence the integration of the businesses, markets and the social interactions associated with them”.

Hartley then continued to explain that this concept together with interactivity, the development of the relationship between person and computer provides a new medium for audiences to view and engage content and data. Whilst this concept may be all too inviting, it seems that media content producers will have to carefully consider how they will get audiences to interact.

In furthering my research on this topic, I learnt from Straubhaar and LaRose that “the aim of interactivity is for audiences to believe that they are interacting with another human being, not a machine” (Straubhaar and LaRose, 2002). Interaction is a concept that is a rapidly growing characteristic of converging technologies. For example, televisions that have converged with Internet content provide the opportunity for audiences to actively participate in content selection and retention.

Steve Curran (2003) discusses the features of interactive television (iTV) that provide an interactive forum for audiences. ITV will include some 500 channels of television as well as offering consumers the ability to chat, email, play interactive games and order products and services as one would over the Internet. One of Steve Curran’s great examples is that audiences could be watching Sex in the City and ordering their favourite designer shoes simultaneously. This is a concept that marketers will benefit from when promoting products to a targeted audience.

Do converging technologies enable more audience participation?

As part of my Bachelor of Communication degree, I am currently undertaking a course called “Screen Matters: Film, Television and New Media”.  For my final assessment, I have chosen the topic of converging technologies and audience participation.  The reason behind this choice is my interest in the technological development of industries and in particular in the creative industry sector. My background is in Marketing therefore I also have a high interest in examining the audience participation from a marketing perspective. 

First and foremost, in order to understand and explore this topic in depth, I will base my research on journal articles, books, readings, library catalogues and for the sake of this excercise I will also seek information from the Internet as it is regarded as one of the most influential convergent technologies in today’s world.