Music Video in a Convergent Media Environment

         "Old media never die... What dies are simply the tools we use to access media content."
                                                                                                                                -Jenkins, 2006.


When looking at the history of Music Video as a medium, it would be easy to fall under the assumption that it is a dying art form. The sparse showings of music video on today's television are stark in contrast to the glory days of MTV, Madonna and MJ, but the limitations set by looking at Music Video purely as a television medium are many. In an environment of digital and cultural convergence, analysing the life of any medium on one platform would be a futile and inaccurate exercise.  I don't propose to argue that television as a 'tool' is dying (Jenkins, 2006), rather that the way we use this tool is rapidly changing, specifically in relation to Music Video and online consumption. With sites such as YouTube and Video accounting for the vast majority of music video consumption, I will also be arguing that online access is going beyond continuing the life of the classic video clip. Access to live streaming and user generated content online is enhancing and expanding the experience of Music Video as a medium.

Firstly, I would like to clarify my definition of 'Music Video' for the purposes of this essay. Prior to the emergence of YouTube in 2005, a Music Video would have been simple to define. A video produced for and set to music for the purposes of being shown on a music television program; frequently featuring artists contracted to record labels. These still exist today and amidst the myriad of music video forms are known as "Official Videos" (Holt, 2011). In a current convergent media sphere, there are several other splinters that I would like to include under the Music Video clarification:

• user generated content; both live recordings and home produced clips.
• live commercial content; produced and distributed by record companies, touring companies and online radio stations.

The Kooks take the coveted role of
Guest Programmers on rage.

With the decline of music video content on MTV, the cancellation of host run video programs such as Video Hits and the reduction of Australia's longest running music program, Rage, leaving only the iconic Saturday evening/Sunday morning guest programmer slot: it is easy to see the waning presence of music video on television. Jenkins' view that the tools or hardware that we use to access media are things that draw parallels when looking at Music Video. It is not Music Video as a form that is dying, but the use of television as a means of access is being surpassed by online access. Holt (2011) argues that contemporary society is undergoing a broad transformation of our media environment, referencing Manovich (2008), who says that with the inception of YouTube, we have entered "a new media universe". This 'new media universe' is the culturally prosperous home to Music Video. Jenkins also talk about the control of the consumer, which I believe is the driving factor behind the shift to online consumption of Music Video. As consumers are becoming more savvy and being given more choice; the likelihood of them sitting down to a video playlist created for them by a TV Producer diminishes; using YouTube to pick and choose or create their own is much more suited to the modern consumer. One outlandish statistic is that of the most watched music video on YouTube, Justin Beiber's Baby, with an astonishing 774 million views, (YouTube.com, 2012).  

        "Consumers are learning how to bring the flow of media more fully under their 
                                                       control and to interact with other consumers." Jenkins, 2006.

Lingel and Maanam (2011) conducted a case study on the user generated production of live concert footage for the purposes of online distribution via YouTube. They view the study of these practises "as an entry point into still-unfolding theoretical discussions on significant changes in content production, and related debates as to the socio-cultural impacts of these alterations." As a form that has only flourished since the inception of online video, user generated live content now makes up a integral part of the music industry. Record companies and bands are less resistant to these forms of media and their ambiguous ownership, at times even contacting the concert goers making to recordings and developing a cooperative relationship with them- choosing clips they would prefer not to have circulated (Lingel, Maanam, 2001).

American Band Lemolo performing
 live at KEXP Studios.

Fabian Holt (2011) goes further, to talk about the almost mandatory inclusion of video content by radio stations, magazines and record companies across their multiple platforms; mandatory in the sense that without them, readership would diminish considerably. KEXP, an alternatively geared radio station based out of Seattle, is at the forefront of online content, with masses of beautifully shot live studio performances available freely on their website.








Another outstanding case of online music video content was the enormous online presence of Coachella, one of the worlds largest music festivals, held in the Californian Spring of 2012. The production and online distribution of content from the festival was on a scale unlike anything before it. With multiple live streaming channels both on YouTube and on the Coachella website, as well as sustained clips of sets, interviews and crowd activity available for viewing at a click- the coverage was interactive and colossally comprehensive. Fans the world round sat at their computers, getting an experience as close to being there as ever before, over ten million of them on YouTube. I personally sat watching a bands set in my living room, simultaneously receiving a picture text from a friend of mine who was at the show... It was an incredible feeling of connectedness brought about by this expanded use of technology.

Coachella Live Streaming Trailer, 2012: Released on the 29th of March, 2012.

User Generated Content: Beirut live from Coachella, 2012, 

as shot by YouTube user, MrPeyote.

Connectedness: A photo sent from a friend in California,
as I streamed Beirut's Coachella set online.

Music video as it stood in the eighties and nineties has moved on. In the past five years we have seen expansions in online production, distribution and consumption that, in the glory days of MTV and RAGE, we could not have dreamed of. With encouraged interactivity, connectivity between bands and fans, increased choice, freedom and access for consumers- it is hard not to the see that music video in it's many forms is a flourishing medium, no matter on what platform it takes precedence.







"The explosion of video content on the Web (2005-) has unleashed a new media universe . . . What is important, however, is that this new universe was not simply a scaled up version of 20th century media culture. Instead, we moved from media to social media. Accordingly, we can also say that we are graduated from 20th century video/film to early 20th century social video." (Holt, 2011, Manovich 2008, 33)



References:

Academic


Holt, F.(2011) 'Is music becoming more visual? Online video content in the music industry, VisualStudies' 26:1, 50-61, accessed Aug, 2012.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/1472586X.2011.548489


Jenkins, H. (2006) Convergence Culture, New York, New York University Press, pp 1-24. 

Lingel, J. Naaman, M. (2012) 'You should have been there, man: Live music, DIY content and online communities' New Media Society 2012 14: 332, accessed Aug, 2012.
http://nms.sagepub.com.simsrad.net.ocs.mq.edu.au/content/14/2/332.full.pdf+html


Orgad, Shani (2009) 'Mobile TV : Old and new in the construction of an emergent technology' Convergence, vol 15 no 2 pp 197 - 214, accessed Aug, 2012.
http://con.sagepub.com.simsrad.net.ocs.mq.edu.au/content/15/2/197.full.pdf+html


Other

Coachella Live Streaming Trailer, 2012, accessed Aug, 2012.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgZuUTRvzso

Beirut, Santa Fe, Live- Coachella, 2012, accessed Aug, 2012.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XIKy9WgF3go&feature=plcp

Lemolo, KEXP live, picture, accessed Aug, 2012.
http://www.fromgotowhoa.com/lemolo-full-performance-live-on-kexp/

KEXP.org, Lemolo recordings, KEXP website, accessed Aug, 2012.
http://kexp.org/live/liveperformance.aspx?rId=33170

Rage, The Kook Guest Progam, Picture, accessed Aug, 2012.
http://www.abc.net.au/rage/archive/s2385227.htm

Digital Media Convergence in Advertising

 Digital Media Convergence - Advertising & New Media

Convergence can be described as the coming together of things that were interdependent previously. Media convergence therefore refers to the adaptation and ever-changing nature of the media, and the process whereby “new technologies are accommodated by existing media and communication industries and cultures” (Dwyer, 2010). We are entering an era where technology will become become a staple and constant in our everyday lives, and we will use all kinds of media in correspondence with each other (Jenkins, H 2004). Particularly in terms of telecommunication devices, this technology no longer has just one use, but a proliferate selection of media tools.

While new media does extend to a wide array of possibilities and potential for advertisers, the gap is quickly closing between new media consumers, and new media producers. Particularly in terms of the digital camera, consumers are now able to produce and input their own content online. The implications of new media and digital convergence has meant that consumers are now able to avoid advertising techniques, proving to be an obstacle for advertisers to overcome. The introduction of the personal video recorder is one particular example that have provided a challenge for advertisers. This has meant that audiences are likely to skip the conventional commercial advertisement, to continue watching the content they originally chose to watch.

The extensive shift of content from Television to the Internet has additionally meant that audiences have become vastly fragmented, indirectly creating another obstacle for advertisers. Due to the rise of digital convergence and the digital media culture, advertisers have responded to the phenomenon in varying ways to address the emerging “confluence culture”.

The term “confluence culture” (Sheehan & Morrison 2009) in terms of the media scape, is when conventional methods adapt to the forms of interactive content available.  In order to keep the public engages, advertisers have gone beyond standardized print advertorials, and have moved into the realm of online advertising to increase engagement. Consequently, online opportunities for advertisers have enabled them to generate more specifically altered material, targeted at particular audiences and developing a personal engagement with consumers. This has effectively become a benefit for advertisers in generating profit and successfully engaging in a target audience as they are able to manage distraction.

There are many different techniques to internet advertising, including banner, pop-up and email forms. The three fundamental types include search advertising, display advertising and classified advertising. Search-based advertising in social media has become a popular technique amongst advertisers and continues to grow. Examples of such a strategy can be seen through Yahoo! and Google alike, paying up to $US900 million to well-known social media sites such as Facebook and Myspace for the rights to provide “search and text-based advertising” (Spurgeon, 2008). An increasingly picked-up strategy by many small business advertisers, an article in The Guardian recently spoke about Twitter enabling advertisers to target specific audiences, based on their daily tweets. Google has become a huge success in displaying advertorials based on what users look for in search engines, while similarly Facebook displays advertisements specifically altered to users based on their online activity. In an effort to keep up with the new social media form of advertising, Twitter has recently decided to allow advertisers send paid ads to users based on their tweets. 

While initially internet advertising saw a promising beginnings (Dreze, X 2003), advertisers began facing obstacles in the lack of effect advertisements had on audiences. As it is, these days consumers have the tendency to be less brand-loyal, an imperative component of marketization strategies for many companies. Traditional media advertisements found that a “one-way” communication model became unsuccessful, and many consumers have lost interest due to the “one-to-many” approach. However, on the other end of the scale, while online advertisers thrive in a one-to-one marketing approach, it has been found that many organizations have struggled to develop a strong brand image through advertising online.

Digital convergence has become a rapidly growing phenomenon in recent years, leading to the development of new media platforms and opportunities for media industries, such as advertisers. While initially struggling in the convergent culture,  businesses that have been able to grasp new media are able to successfully make use of advertising strategies, particularly online. 

References

1. DBA Designs, Social Media Vs. Traditional Media, viewed 27th August, <http://www.dbadesigns.com/ads/social-media-vs-traditional-media/>
   
2. Dreze, X & Hussherr F 2003, ‘Internet Advertising: Is Anybody Watching’, Journal of Interactive Marketing, Vol. 17, No. 4, pp. 8-23
   
3. Dwyer, T 2010, Media Convergence, McGraw Hill, Berkshire, pp. 1-23
   
4. Jenkins, H. (2006) Convergence Culture, New York University Press
   
5. Jenkins, Henry (2004), 'The cultural logic of media convergence', International Journal of Cultural Studies v1, pp. 33–43
   
6. Sheehan, K and Morrison, D (2009) Beyond convergence: Confluence culture and the role of the advertising agency in a changing world in  First Monday vol 14 no 3 - http://firstmonday.org/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/2239/2121
   
7. Spurgeon, C 2008, Advertising and New Media, Oxon, Routledge, pp. 24-45
   
8. Spurgeon, CL 2005 Losers and lovers : mobile phone services advertising and the new media consumer/producer. Journal of Interactive Advertising, 5(2).

Digital Media Convergence:
Advertising & New Media

---

Digital media convergence; a defining trend of the modern media environment, a process which can be seen to not only transform our technological, social, political, cultural and economic worlds, but also emphasis the “intersection of distinct media and information technology systems that have previously been thought of as separate and self-contained” (Dwyer, 2010: 2). New media has reshaped advertising and has created a whole new world for the media industry to produce and engage their audiences. The shift from analogue, one-directional media, to digital media that can be accessed and engaged with by consumers in multiple ways, has allowed for an ease in the flow of information, moving from one platform to another, across the world, almost instantaneously. 

Advertising In Convergent Media

In the new millennium market consumers are more individualized, differentiated and flexible.  New media has allowed for advertisers to cater for these particular consumers, with the opportunities digital media provides to them. "One of the main synergetic strategies for cross-media work is to get more news published on more media platforms, with the same, or fewer resources" (Erdal, 2007: 78). With this drive behind digital media convergence, advertisers are able to take advantage of these ever-expanding linkages between media platforms and get their messages across to consumers in the most technological and economical way possible. 

"Media owners in the twenty-first century strive to continuously expand their output across media platforms" (Dwyer, 2010: 3)

Today, advertisers have little to no option than to target their selected audiences through new media - the internet has become the fastest growing medium recorded, and with that growth, advertisers need to mould and change the way in which they use media platforms, to have more internet based engagement with consumers. Dior, for instance, a luxury french goods company, specialising in leather goods, fashion accessories, jewellery, fragrance, make-up and skincare products, to name a few, is seen as an exclusive women's orientated designer brand - making the way in which they advertise their products crucial to the success of their brand. Dior, and advertisers alike, must understand that when marketing, not just consumers attention has to be reached, but consumer behaviour as well, put simply, consumers interact differently online. The majority of Dior's marketing efforts are placed within their website, where their targeted consumers go to engage in the latest products and offerings of this brand. With this said, magazine advertising for Dior is also another crucial way in which their brand receives exposure, the utilisation of 'old' print media and new digital media, allows the brand to reach their market specifically and operate with their consumer's behaviour - almost perfectly emphasising the idea that:

"Convergence does not simply generate new media. It opens up new possibilities for 'old media'" (Burton, 2005: 118)

With the added ability for magazines to also be viewed on mobile devices such as Smart Phones, iPhones and iPads, to name a few, advertisers can further interrelate their soft copy advertisements with their online media advertisement efforts. Allowing customers to easily shift between the two media platforms, to ultimately seek the information/content they desire - all in all allowing consumers to generally select what marketing efforts they engage in, revealing the breaking down of barriers that once were one-directional media, as a direct result of media convergence. It is the linking of old and new media that creates for an effective advertisement, it can be argued that one cannot work without the other, and it is the building upon past media forms and platforms, that new ones are found. "Some of the newer digital agencies that specialise in Internet advertising may develop interactive messages better than traditional agencies, yet lack the branding skills of traditional agencies." (Sheehan & Morrison, 2009).

Dior Addict Extreme

New Product Launch/Short Film

Main Developments Behind Advertising & New Media

Main developments behind advertising and new media can be seen to have risen from the efficiency and cost effectiveness of these new media forms. It is cheaper to develop a marketing budget for the production of one advertisement that spreads virally through the internet platform, than to buy multiple spaces within traditional media forms. By placing product campaigns such as Dior Addict, visible above, on media sharing sites at YouTube, consumers have the ability to view it from any desired location and ultimately circulate it through society, spreading the marketing campaign of the product beyond the efforts of the advertisers.

Through the ‘viral campaign’ phenomenon, it becomes evident that the media industry and advertising, through the use of online tools, is revolutionary. Advertisers today launch their ad campaigns on the internet with the goal of consumers interacting with their adverts and incorporating them into their own social networking. According to Merrin, broadcasting “has been transformed by digital technology in their production, distribution and consumptions, and they have had to adapt their business models to find new ways to monetize their products and reach audiences whose behaviour and expectations have fundamentally shifted” (Merrin, 2009). Merrin suggests that with the changes in social and cultural behaviour, due to online digital media, advertisers have to appeal to their audience and consumers in general.

Today, “advertisers can use stories to help connect people to the brand in new and exciting ways” (Sheehan and Morrison, 2009). In retrospect of Sheehan and Morrison’s view point, Dior created a ‘viral campaign’ through showing consumer’s what it is like to be iconic and through purchasing their elite product, consumers can share this value and alike themselves to the iconic women present within the ad campaign. 

Conclusion

Thus said, it is clear that modern day advertising has not only excelled but expanded with the technological improvements of digital media. Once one-directional, non-engaging methods of advertising, can now be seen to be consumer driven marketing - giving targeted audiences the power to interact and bare witness to advertising efforts of businesses as they please. Ultimately through new digital media and platforms available for both consumers to use and marketers to advertise through.

Louise Paolucci 42460123

Alana Lucci 42885639

References 

Unit readings:

• Dwyer, T. (2010). Media Convergence. Berkshire: McGraw Hill. pp. 1-23.
• Erdal (2007). As referenced in: Dwyer, T. (2010). Media Convergence. Berkshire: McGraw Hill. pp 3.

Books:

• Burton, G, (2005) Media and Society: critical perspectives, Maidenhead: Open University Press.                   

Recommended Reading List:

• Sheehan, K.B & Morrison, D.K. (2009) Beyond Convergence: Confluence culture and the role of the advertising agency in the changing world. Creative Commons Attribution, Volume 14, No.: 3.

Additional Readings:

• Merrin, William. (2009) Interactions: Studies in Communication and Cultures,  Media Studies 2.0: upgrading and opening-sourcing the discipline, Swansea University, Volume 1, No.: 1, pp. 17-34.

 

Digital Media Convergence: Advertising and New Media

‘Digital media convergence is the process by which media forms, industries, cultures and practices of use have merged'. (Dwyer T, 2012) Thus it is the coming together of computing, communications and content.

This phenomenon has radically transformed the practices of advertising and new media. This is the result of the popularisation and evolution of the internet and the services that it provides. Owen (1999: 16) refers the internet as ‘the prophecy of convergence: television sets, telephones and computers – and the networks that bind them – are or will become the same. The internet will be all’. This notion of media convergence has impacted on the execution of traditional advertising. Before the spur of the digital revolution, advertising was delivered through analogue technology such as newspapers. Media convergence has revolutionised advertising towards participatory mediums such as the internet and mobile phones. Unlike traditional practices of advertising where it surged in a uni-directional nature from producers to consumers, participatory media has ‘enabled people to decide when, where, how they consume the content they desire’. (Deuze, 2006: 62).  Similarly, nowadays, consumers are able to produce their own content, for example, video blogs on the video sharing website YouTube. Correspondingly, Burgess and Green (2009) argue that YouTube is the first mass-popular platform for user-created media content. This defines the term ‘prosumer’ evidently referring to the blur between consumer and producer. Consequently Jenkins reinforces this phenomenon of digital media convergence by claiming that ‘digital technology is a response to analogue’s shortcomings’.

Advertisers have effectively appealed to their audience through the use of the new media environment. It is of importance that advertisers in an online context must grasp the attention of their audience by appealing to them and understanding their online behaviour. This is highlighted by Spurgeon (2008: 27), as he states that 'these advertisers creatively embed their messages in media flows and experiences that coveted consumers will actively seek out'. Advertisers have successfully followed their audiences through new media avenues to sell their products. They have utilised product placement advertising and the viral campaign to efficiently do so. This adaption in advertising with the cooperation with the new media has accounted for their propelling success as the way advertisers appeal to their audiences is redefined.

Viral Campaign

The viral campaign phenomenon has been a feat of an advertising technique. This is as an outcome of the evolution of advertising and the new media as advertisers deliver their campaigns on pre-existing social networks on the internet to promote brand awareness. The success of trailing the ads on social networks online before promoting them on television is measured by ‘the number of “hits”, comments and responses the video attracts’ (Deuze, 2006: 696).  In this new media environment, the viral campaign is an effective vital feature of advertising as it eliminates advertising costs which would otherwise be spent on limited old media promotion. This is valuable exposure and efficiency gained by companies (Khamis, 2012).

                                                    The Force: Volkswagen Commercial

In February 2011, Volkswagen introduced the video “The Force: Volkswagen Commercial” for Volkswagen’s 2012 Passsat which became an instant viral hit.  It features an appropriation of the Darth Vader character from Star Wars which results in intertextuality. The advertisement was a success through the use of its satirical humour and release of its promotion a year before the issue of the product. This infamous Star Wars ad attracted to this day over 54 million views from its release date and embraces the most views on YouTube in 2011. It also currently holds the highest number of shares. In a contemporary context, this is the epitome of the success of viral advertising video.

Product Placement

Product placement is another example of a successful advertising practice and evidence of the revolution of advertising. This placement of branded products integrated in movies, television shows and other forms of media, is a growing effective strategy and a clear example of the proliferation of the co-adaption of advertising and the new media.

Oreo is a big participator of product placement. In particular, in the 1990’s Oreo had appeared several times in the famous sitcom Friends. It played a big role in the plot of the pilot episode and from then on was featured several times throughout the series. However, Pottery Barn, an American-based classy home furnishing store, was the most successful product placement of the TV series. In season 6 episode 11, Rachel continuously shops at Pottery Barn for new furniture for the apartment she shares with Phoebe, who despises mass-produced products. Rachel disguises this by telling Phoebe the furnishings are antiques. Consequently, when the truth is revealed, Phoebe ironically coerces Rachel to purchase a Pottery Barn lamp. This product placement was a lasting success for Pottery Barn. In an interview in 2004, Patrick Connolly of Williams-Sonoma expressed that since the episode, ‘phones light up with catalogue requests every time (the episode) airs in syndication’. This prominent placement tactic of Pottery Barn in the television series has evidently been a proven advertising success.

                                Friends: The one with the apothecary table (S6E11)

        Similarly, another instance of the prosperous approach of prominent placement products is the largely-known Apple products. Apple is one of the largest users of product placement advertising as their products have been featured in countless movies, music videos and TV series. It was even claimed this year that 'Apple products were in more than 40 percent of top movies last year, an advantage as traditional advertising falls flat'. (Burrows and Fixmar, 2012).  One of their greatest successes was the iPad placement in the TV series Modern Family in 2010 and inevitably claimed to be the best product placement of the year. Just two days before Apple’s first iPad hit the stores, the Modern Family episode centred on the iPad. Throughout the duration of the show, viewers watched the family attempt their best to acquire the iPad. The iPad was shown, used and was mentioned in various contexts about its usefulness hence the audience achieves an affective response of desire.

                                                    Phil and his new toy in Modern Family

It is apparent that the co-adaption of advertising and the new media in this current convergent media milieu is the key to its success. The rise of new technological advances of the digital revolution has precipitated the implementation of new advertising techniques such as the Viral Campaign and Product Placement. Inevitably the media convergence phenomenon that ‘because of the capabilities of digital technologies, content and services previously offered through various media will be in the future conveyed to a single artifact, the internet’ (Boczkowski and Ferris, 2005: 35), advertisers now have the capability to flourish alongside with the advancements of technology.

 

Resources

Recommended readings:

Ø  Sheehan, Kim and Morrison, Deborah (2009) Beyond convergence: Confluence culture and the role of the advertising agency in a changing world in First Monday vol 14 no 3 –

http://firstmonday.org/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/2239/2121  (Accessed 29 August 2012 )

Unit readings:

Ø  Dwyer, T. (2010) Media Convergence. Berkshire: McGraw Hill. pp. 1-23.

Ø  Jenkins, H. (2006) Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide. New York: New York University Press. pp. 1-24.

Ø  Spurgeon, C. (2008) Advertising and New Media. Oxon: Routledge. pp.24-45

Lecture Content:

Ø  Keith, S. (2012) Digital Convergence, MAS 110, Macquarie University, 8 August

Ø  Khamis, S. (2012) Advertising and New Media, MAS 110, Macquarie University, 22 August

Additional research:

Ø  Burrows,P. and Fixmer, A. (2012) Bloomberg Business Week Technology: Apple, the other cult in Hollywood.

http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-05-10/apple-the-other-cult-in-hollywood    (Retrieved  29 August)

Ø  Deuze, M. (2006) New Media and Society: Collaboration, participation and the media. London: Sage Productions.  (Date accessed 29 August )

Ø  Burgess, J. and Green, J. (2009) Youtube: Online Video and Participatory Culture (Retrieved 30 August)

Ø  iPad Modern Family – 3 October 2010 Accessed through YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJp4_bxHOgU&feature=related (Retrieved 30 August)

Ø  The Force: Volkswagen Commercial – 2 February 2011 Accessed through Youtube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R55e-uHQna0 (Date accessed 30 August)

Ø  Image: Friends: The one with the apothecary table episode – Accessed through Google Images:

http://crookedshmooked.blogspot.com.au/2008/11/apothecary-tables-of-yore.html (Retrieved 31 August)

The Phenomenon of Digital Media Convergence in Advertising

Source

Discuss the phenomenon of digital media convergence in relation to one of the following: Advertising & New Media or Music Video Online.

"Convergence culture, as a concept, articulates a shift in the way global media industries operate, and how people as audiences interact with them"(Deuze, M., 2009). In this case convergence refers to the ways in which types of media that were once very much individual have become merged together. Indeed a simpler way to understand the concept is to consider the vastly increasing number of platforms within which one now finds advertising, and the plethora of ways we are advertised to in the 21st century. Advertising as a discipline has evolved and diversified significantly from what Spurgeon calls direct information-based advertising of the Print-era (2008). In 2012 digital convergence, at least in terms of Advertising and New Media, has been all but totally realised. The advent of 3G technology has helped to achieve the prized notion of "location-sensitive one-to-one marketing communications" (Wilken & Sinclair, 2009), whilst rising popularity in social-network based websites, particularly Facebook, has given advertisers the opportunity to target progressively shrinking demographics. Whilst both of these factors are important steps in the eventuation of digital media convergence, they both raise interesting questions about personal privacy in the digital age and the impact of digital media convergence on society/daily life.

Apple iPhone v4: Source

It would not be a far stretch to say that in 2012 we live in the age of 3G. The Apple iPhone (and other such touch-screen mobile phones) is one of the most familiar cultural icons of the day, with a vast population of users spreading across a vast range of demographics. As far as convergence in advertising is concerned the iPhone has become akin to the Arc of the Covenant, enabling advertising to reach consumers in new and increasingly diverse fashions. "The Swiss Army knives of technology' (Story, 2007), the iPhone has realised the potential of 3G technology in advertising. It is also the perfect modern example of digital convergence in our day-to-day lives. In one device one can now find their mobile communications, music library, television, radio, map, calendar, camera, gaming, banking, news, transport info and social networking in the palm of ones hand, and that's just to name a few. Whilst at first this would seem to be an advertisers dream the platform creates various complexities with regards to the customer. 3G technology and its implication in advertising is expanding exponentially. Wilken and Sinclair use the example of Australian-based mobile content provider HWW, "claim[ing] that, by combining ‘behavioural targeting’ techniques and location-based services, they can find for their customers ‘somebody who is within an age range, and a demographic, with a source of interest that you want, who’s doing a specific thing at a specific time, and give them a message’ (quoted in ‘On the Radar’, 2006)" (Wilken & Sinclair, 2009). The phenomenon of digital media convergence in advertising and new media has huge potential but this potential raises some Orwellian notions regarding privacy. In the 2008 Advertising Age article "Want to target online? You better build trust", Sherman quotes Sarah Welch, chief operating officer of ad network Mindset Media - "[consumers] are afraid fundamentally of a giant database in the sky that is collecting information from different sources and has an aggregated file ... that can be linked back to you, and the information in that file could be used to discriminate against you or harass you with unwanted solicitation in the future" (Sherman, 2008).  Digital Media Convergence has brought advertisers much closer to their consumers, thanks to tracking of individual usage data by companies such as Google and Facebook. 

Source

According to Spurgeon, companies "are looking for new ways to reach increasingly distracted, distrustful and disinterested consumers... to avoid being a cause or irritation and interruption, many of these advertisers creatively embed their messages in media flows and experiences that coveted consumers will actively seek out"  (2008). Quite possibly the most popular of such sought-out media experiences is provided by the social network Facebook, launched in 2004 and now comprising 901 million users, over half of which access the site from mobile devices (Sengupta, 2012). Much like the iPhone, Facebook is a convergent platform, combining a huge variety of Web 2.0 functionalities. Thus, it has enabled various developments regarding advertising and new media. "As an online directory for a good chunk of the human race, with the names, photos, tastes and desires of nearly a billion people"(Sengupta, 2012) Facebook is primed for advertising. According to their spiel Facebook allows the advertiser to "create an outline of your ideal customer including details such as their location, age, gender and interests". As Facebook is a site for digital convergence, with users interacting with one another, playing online games, following news and current affairs from prominent figures and creating albums of photos and videos, the information it has on the individual that can be provided to the advertiser is immensely vast and thus the platform has drawn criticism over privacy concerns. In her 2010 research paper "Privacy and Perceptions: How Facebook Advertising Affects its Users" Katherine K. Roberts found that the aforementioned criticism (such as the examples found here & here) are not held by a large population (of the sample) of Facebook's demographic users. 88% of students studied across the 4 universities (representing all different geographical regions of the country, with half representing large, public institutions and the other small, private institutions) had seen directly targeted advertisements with an overall 54.7% saying this did not change their perception of privacy (however the majority swung between campuses), 66.7% said the use of micro-targeting did not change their perception of the company and those that did were split between a positive and negative change in perception; with only 5% of all students not logging in on a daily basis (Roberts, 2009). In light of the criticisms against Facebook and the data presented by Roberts, it is possible to draw several conclusions regarding Digital Media Convergence and New Media. Facebook's main demographic is comprised of 'digital natives', and data suggests that such digital natives (being fully immersed in convergence culture) do not maintain the widely documented privacy phobias mentioned earlier. It would appear that the younger generation, completely familiarised with most forms of new media, understand these new methods in advertising are par for the course. 

Digital Media Convergence, particularly in relation to Advertising and New Media can be a frightening concept. From the 3G technology pinpointing ones location, to the personal data collected from ones Facebook profile, the complete digital profile of ones entire online experience is becoming a reality. Whilst the data collection practices and motives of companies like Facebook and Google has been criticised it is becoming increasingly clear that this is a necessary evil of convergence culture for the success of a convergent capitalist culture.

Reference:

Deuze, M. (2009) Media Industries, Work and Life, European Journal of Communication, vol.24, no.4, pp.467-80

Roberts, K. (2010) 'Privacy and Perceptions: How Facebook Advertising Affects its Users' The Elon Journal of Undergraduate Research in Communications, vol.1, no.5, pp.24 - 34

http://www.elon.edu/docs/e-web/academics/communications/research/03RobertsEJSpring10.pdf

Sengupta, S. (2012) 'Facebooks Prospects May Rest on Trove of Data' The New York Times, May 14, URL (accessed August 2012): http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/15/technology/facebook-needs-to-turn-data-trove-into-investor-gold.html

Sherman, E. (2008) 'What to target online? You better build trust' Advertising Age, 79.

Sinclair, John and Wilken, Rowan (2009) 'Waiting for the kiss of life : mobile media and advertising' Convergence: the journal of research into new media, vol.15, no.5, pp.427 - 445 http://con.sagepub.com.simsrad.net.ocs.mq.edu.au/content/15/4/427.full.pdf+html

Spurgeon, C. (2008) Advertising and New Media, Oxon, Routledge, pp.24 - 45

Story, L. (2007) ‘New Bar Codes Can Talk with Your Cellphone’ The New York Times, 1 April, URL

(accessed August 2012): http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/01/business/01code.html?ex=1333080000&en=8bb1180541c7a895&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

By Dominic Wohlfiel

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