Convergence of Digital and Cutting Edge Technology and Traditional Household Appliances

Old media are not being displaced. Rather, their functions and status are shifted by the introduction of new technologies (Jenkins 2006).

If we expand Jenkins' idea of media to go beyond the platforms that facilitate cultural interactions, if we go beyond that to any traditional object or appliance that allows a cultural function and think about the way these objects are being integrated with new technologies, we arrive at the subject for my next post. The convergence of cutting edge technologies and traditional home appliances.  

Convergence alters the relationship between existing technologies, industries, markets, genres, and audiences (Jenkins 2006).

It's not hard to apply the idea of convergence, in the purest meaning of the word, to everyday appliances that are evolving to do more than their original function. But applying the idea of convergence in a media sense, moving away from simply entertainment and news is a little harder. Or I thought so until I discovered objects like this:

The iBasket.

The iBasket is a conceptual appliance that functions as a laundry basket, washing machine and dryer all in one. How does that relate to convergence culture apart from the obvious? Glad you asked. Once the iBasket has finished it's cycle it informs you via email or text message to your smart phone. It also has WiFi capability, so you can monitor it's progress from your computer. 

These added capabilities change our relationship to this appliance and forge a new relationship between 'old' technologies (laundry basket/washing machine) and 'new' technology (smart phones/internet/laptop). Dr Teodor Mitew talked of old technologies dying or 'mutating' in a lecture (Transglobal Entertainment and Media Convergence) given at the University of Wollongong. While he was referring largely to sound content, the same can be said about this appliance (2011). Just as Vinyl mutated to stay current in the era of the CD, so to do other objects. The iBasket is a convergence of three appliances, however it was not conceptualized to keep current with any of the three. This appliance was conceptualized to replace them and with the added draw card of being compatible with the most widely used digital technologies, this 'mutation' of traditional objects alters it's relationship with it's audience and ensures it's advantage over it's lesser digitally capable competition.

That's not to say that everyone will want one. In the words of Jenkins himself: "I didn’t want the electronic equivalent of a Swiss army knife... I just wanted a phone (2006)." Just because objects have the ability to converge and create new consumer-product relationships, doesn't mean those relationships are always welcomed.

Further Readings concerning media convergence specifically: 

National Film and Sound Archive: Professor Trevor Barr talks Telstra, Internet and TV Convergence.

Nice and quick at just over 3min, in this video Trevor Barr (Professor of Media and Communications at Swinburne University of Technology) discusses media convergence in an Australian context, telstra, Telecom and TV channels online.

Media Convergence Matters: Media Convergence blog discussing Journalism, Social Networks and the Internet. A handy source.

For an Australian context and a more no-nonsense read there is always:

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC)'s speech by Graeme Samuel (Chairman) for the Henry Mayer Lecture. Entitled Media Convergence and the Changing Face of Media Regulation it deals with just that, media regulation in Australia. ADSL, Free-to-air TV channels and 3G mobile networks are all discussed.

In short, is the technology making many of our existing concerns about media regulation irrelevant? ...As I've made clear today, it is not the job of the ACCC to decide whether it is better for people to access their news and entertainment through the TV, or ADSL2+ or fibre or wireless or even through the mobile phone. But it is our job to ensure that existing players not be allowed to use their market power to close down new forms of competition, and that, as far as possible, it be left to consumers to decide what form this revolution takes and

what services and content they wish to access.

- Graeme Samuel, Media Convergence and the Changing Face of Media Regulation, 2005.   

Blog Sources:

Jenkins, H 2006,  'Introduction: Worship at the Altar of Convergence' in Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide, New York University Press, New York, pp 1- 24

Mitew, T, 2011, Transglobal Entertainment and Media Convergence, Lecture, DIGC202 Global Networks, University of Wollongong, delivered 29 August. 

Disney: "Copycats" and "Thieves"

In all honesty I could have probably done several posts on the subject copyright, digital piracy, intellectual property rights and so on. But since my last post was a bit TLDR in length (meaning Too Long Didn't Read for those who aren't up on internet slang terms), I have decided to make the next one short 'n' fun.

Look away Disney fans, I'm about to ruin your childhood.

Disney's reuse of animation:

and then... Disney accused of stealing their concept for The Lion King:

Excuse me while I curl up into the fetal position and lament the loss of my childhood.

Everyone Panic: Artists and Copyright in Cyberspace.

Ted Mitew gave a lecture this week at the University of Wollongong entitled "Against the Law: Intellectual Property and Content Control". The lecture dealt with the issues surrounding copyright on the internet, patents and the history of intellectual property rights (IP) and copyright. Subjects discussed in both lecture and tutorial included internet piracy and how copyright effects the creative community.

Examples used included Shakespeare's liberal "borrowing" of ideas from other writers and Charles Dicken's apparent increase in revenue in the US despite the absence of copyright laws in comparison to the profits made in his home country of Britain where copyright laws were stricter.  

As I listened to these examples and took in the finer points of the readings, especially that of Lawrence Lessig, I began to feel uneasy. It's all well and good to argue that lack of copyright does not harm the creative community when talking about those artists that are well established and have fame (or in Stephanie Meyer's case, notoriety) on their side. But what about the rest of us? What defense do artists trying to forge a name for themselves against those that would copy/steal their ideas and pass them off as their own? Especially those attempting to break into industries like publishing or the art world that are competitive enough without having someone plagiarize your work and call it their own. This issue was discussed in the tutorial and arguments for 'healthy' competition and the increase of value to the original, but how do we determine whose work is the original?

As a writer myself, this worried me. I was worried for my industry. I thought "What does this mean for my art?" Well, my solution was to publish my work through trusted channels. If I publish online, I do it through literary journals and  am comforted by the peace of mind that even if my work is copied that I have a record of when I published my work and also the protection of the journal's copyright policy. If I publish to my personal literary blog, I only publish work that has either been already published elsewhere or pieces that are of a quality that won't bother me if someone copies them. 

Now there are those, both in the readings and in the creative content industry that are in a panic about copyright in cyberspace and what it means for artists. Writers like Michael Bywater have taken to the web and voiced concerns over the future of creative industries in the age of the internet. In the article subtly titled If Writers Don't Get Paid, Internet Publishing Will Die Bywater suggests (like so many others) that the internet and a lack of strict copyright laws will mean the end of writers because no one will get paid. After putting aside the blatant sexism in the tagline that follows the article's title.

"We risk returning to an age when writing is the preserve of gentlemen of leisure"

Yeah thanks Bywater, and female writers/journalists go back to what? Making you sandwiches while you bang away on a typewriter? I don't think so.

After restraining my inner feminist I considered his argument... and found it absolutely ridiculous. I'm not sure who he has been working for but I don't know any writers or journalists who haven't benefited from endless opportunities made possible by the digital world. Does he publish for free or what? Who knows, I certainly haven't asked him. But from what I can see, cyberspace has mean't an increase in the need for writers rather than the opposite. Aside from the monetary benefit gained by literary journals (now made easier to access thanks to the implementation of submission systems like Submishmash), websites benefit writers with a unique opportunity for remote employment because they need them for the creation/editing of their site's content; jobs that can mean flexible hours and in some cases, the added benefit of working from home. If you browse creative job seeking sites such as Artshub you'll find no shortage of adverts asking for the services of a professional writer. There is plenty of paid work out there, clearly the industry isn't dying.

Bywater also makes the argument (like so many before him) that if writer's/artist's copyright is threatened or that if producers of creative content don't get paid, that somehow this will mean that artists will stop producing content and the internet will fall into an apocalypse of stale content. 

Are you serious Michael? Have you not been on the Behance Network? Have you never logged onto Deviant Art? Obviously Bywater is not an artist himself or else he would already understand the absurdity of his insinuation that without monetary gain, artists will cease to create. I could go on and on all day about this one article alone, let alone the many articles of similar journalists crying foul at the big bad internet and the supposed approaching creative apocalypse. But since I have gone on to long already, I will see just this:

Art is as much about audience as it is about creation. Artists/writers/journalists seek to express themselves and their opinions and most have such a hunger to do so that they will do so whether they are compensated for it or not. You only have to look at the millions of blogs exactly like this one, harboring artists exactly like me, still in the business, still getting paid for our creative work published both in the 'real' world and online; but also creating content for free for the fun of it and for benefit of their audience.

Presence Bleed and Work/Life Balance: SAS, Zappo.com, and Dreamworks.

"Life has become analogous to work. Instead of developing a lifestyle, our everyday efforts and energy go into choosing a work-style: ‘a way of working and a way of being at work’, as one British professional coaching agency describes it."

- Extract from Liquid Life, Convergence Culture, and Media Work by Mark Deuze, Indiana University.

The work/life debate is not a new one. But the ever increasing development of technology encourages a blur  between home-life and work-life more than ever before. This is what those at homecookedtheory.com refer to as 'presence bleed'. There is a lot of opinion out there about how presence bleed negatively effects workers. There are numerous websites devoted to the issue with helpful articles on how to achieve a work/life balance that works for you. 

Tired of juggling babies? Click here.

But can the work/home blur be positive? It can if you work for one of the companies on CNNMoney's 100 Best Companies to Work For. Take software giant SAS for example, workers at SAS have the opportunity to make presence bleed work in their favor by taking advantage of the company's on-site healthcare, beauty salons, recreation facilities and child-minding services. Similarly Zappos.com boast a work environment that is so happy, they sing about it. No really, they have their own song.

 The "Zappos Family" provide free lunches and workers can also make use of a life coach. I know another organisation that has a perky song about being a 'family' but as this cult organisation is in no way related to the current company or this post so I will move on.  

Dreamworks Animation was ranked number 10 on the 100 Best Companies to Work For list. Perks include free meals, film screenings, games room and yoga classes but what seems to be more attractive to employees is the chance to pitch your ideas to the big wigs. The company even provides classes on how to do just that. 

With perks like that, employees of these companies are some of the happiest in the world. That sounds like presence bleed at it's best to me.

More about presence bleed:

Work/Life Blance Australia

Work/Life Blur stresses Women article

The Impact of Technology on Work/Life Balance

Mobile Technology and the Australian Worker

The Hard Impact of Soft-World Technology: Facebook Places and 'Stalker' Apps

"Communication, and its ally computers, is a special case in economic history. Not because it happens to be the fashionable leading business sector of our day, but because its cultural, technological, and conceptual impacts reverberate at the root of our lives."
- Kevin Kelly New Rules for the New Economy 1999.

The ever modernizing digital communications industry is constantly dreaming up new ways for users to connect and share content. Smart phones enable users to communicate with others, access maps, shop online, order takeaway and access social networking sites on the go. There seems to be an App (smartphone application) for everything. This access ability on the go has the potential to make our lives easier but there are negative impacts as well.


Now I'm not one of those bloggers that thinks new technology creates new evil. But there is no denying that some new technologies make it easier for those that would do evil to go about their business. As I mentioned in previous posts about protesters using social networking sites such as Facebook to rally against tyrannical governments, these same networking sites also have the potential to help those that would stalk people, find and monitor their victims.

Other dangers include: coming out of your monitor, drooling and only having three fingers on one hand. 

In 2010 Facebook launched it's 'Places' feature, allowing users reveal to friends in cyberspace where they were in the 'real' world. As you can imagine this ignited all sorts debate over its obvious privacy issue. Some have called it the "Ultimate Stalking Tool" while others  are more concerned that users may be logged into locations without their permission. 


Marketers however, are praising the Facebook Places App as an effective advertising tool for businesses. Businesses registering their 'Place' are encouraged to offer users extra incentives for users who log in to and thus promote their business.

Zuckerberg approves.

Not-so-Zuckerberg approved Apps for Facebook (and potential stalkers) include the "Break Up Notifier" which allows users to track other user's relationship status changes and this helpful App created by the Dutch anti-smoking council.

  Before you get excited, both Apps have been reportedly blocked by Facebook.

Inception in Cyberspace: MMOG and the Blurring of Borders.

"Imagine discovering a continent so vast that it may have no other side. Imagine a new world with more resources than all our future greed might exhaust, more opportunities than there will ever be entrepreneurs enough to exploit, and a peculiar kind of real estate which expands with development." 

- John Perry Barlow (poet, essayist and author of A Declaration of the Independence of Cyberspace), 1981. 

Imagine that within that new continent there were sites that provided downloadable 'massively multiplayer online games' (MMOGs), software that allowed users to create their own continents, and you basically have an Inception-style digital mindblow. The virtual reality game Second Life is probably the most widely recognized brand of this particular software. In Code 2.0 Lawrence Lessig discusses Second Life (Four Puzzles From Cyberspace) suggesting that there are one set of norms for real space and another set of norms for MMOG cyberspace. While this may be true, real world users tend to react to cyberspace conflict operating out of their real space norms. For example, crimes in cyberspace being punishable in real space. In Nov 2008, The Telegraph (UK) ran a story on Second Life Adultery focusing on two cases where a partner cheating in cyberspace had life changing results in real time. MMOGs give users the freedom and anonymity to engage in behaviors or act out fantasies that they may not be comfortable with doing in real space but doing so is not without consequences.

Red Light Centre is one MMOG that encourages users to engage in adults only fun.  Just as its name implies, Red Light Centre is an online red light district-type virtual world centred around interacting with other 'open-minded' users in an adults only, fulfil your fantasy environment.

The Red Light Centre Website.

It's not hard to imagine the real world implications for spouses found to be using this site. The BBC even has a documentary focused on the consequences of virtual world adultery. Second life and Red Light Centre are just two examples of MMOG that facilitate these behaviours but there are many, many others.

Keneva is like a smaller version of Second Life with a similar focus on user interaction but within a shopping and entertainment focused atmosphere. With the familiar in-no-way-true-to-life virtual avatars, an emphasis on shopping and a name that contains "Ken" it has an eerie Mattel feel.

An example of the avatars on offer at Keneva.

This brings us to the world of MMOG business. Many businesses and public figures are taking advantage of the popularity of platforms like Second Life and Keneva to promote their agendas.

Song BMG in Second Life

Brands engage in product placement just as they would in real space, politicians are engaging in online PR campaigns and with an endless continent and billions of potental buyers, the real estate sector is booming.

Obama campaigning in Second Life.

Marketing companies are now releasing guides for businesses and individuals wishing to buy and sell real estate in the virtual world. All in all these factors make virtual worlds a little more real world than you'd expect and prove even your ultimate fantasy universe can't escape the reach of big business. 

Click on the links below for more interesting articles: 

Second Life helps distance education students.
Japanese Politician risks Wrath of Government over Second Life Campaign. 
There.com  (MMOG)
The Metaverse Journal: Virtual Worlds in the News

  

Shut down by the Man: Global Networks, Social Media and Civil Unrest.

"If the internet crashed all across the land
Or my facebook account was deleted by the man
I'd carry around a picture of my face
And a summary of me typed out on a page"

- The Facebook Song

In Jan 2011 the egyptian government attempted to shut down the country's digital networks in order to put a stop to protesters organising themselves online. Manuel Castells suggestion that "technology does not determine society" in Why Networks Matter was proven valid when the protesters continued to rally together, undeterred by their government's actions.

But the situation did more than make communications within the country difficult. It showed that though the protests continued without digital help, communication networks like the internet and specifically social networking sites, were a formidable tool that allowed protesters to organise themselves faster and rally together greater numbers. So effective were these online networks, that they posed a threat to Hosni Mubarak's continued power over the Egyptian people.

Global networks have changed the face of modern protest and Egypt is not the only government that feels threatened. The Zambian Watchdog reports that Malawi has taken a leaf out of Mubarak's book and shut down some news sites and social media networks, fearing these networks will entice and aid further protests as they did in Egypt. PCWorld reports China has similar concerns, strengthening it's censorship of foreign social media sites such as Facebook, the site believed to be most useful during the Egyptian protests in January.

While some governments around the world are fearing the organisational power digital networks. Recent 'digital campaigning' by US politicians via digital networking sites such as Twitter, Facebook and YouTube have got some experts debating their effectiveness as a campaign tool. Reporternews.com reports that campaigning via social media has leading political science experts debating it's effectiveness against communicating with constituents in the 'real' world.

I guess we'll find out when the votes are counted.



For more interesting articles regarding the role of social media in civil unrest, click the links below:

asiancorrespondent.com: Social Media, Censorship and the Thai Government.

rapidnewsnetwork.com: Politicians campaign using social media.

pcworld.com: Social Networking Trumps Censorship Every Time.