What has Microsoft got in store for us?

5-10 years are the predictions of Microsoft, the digital revolution exploding. A very exciting prospect for us all, well the most anyway. People living in the past, out of the loop of technology need to catch up, and fast, otherwise they will be quickly left behind. Although as Gil Scott Heron said, The Revolution WILL NOT be Televised, I some how think it will.

QR CODES

A whole new way of directly accessing information instantly! These codes, thanks to media convergence, are making it easier to access information online. The can be found on highstreet posters and public transport, and its a great new way to go directly to the information you want to see.

Media Convergence - A Video Representation

A video representation of Media Convergence, a video produced by the group. Set in a news room, showing a contrast of the news today and the news in 1993, showing technology in a positive light by helping the news room. Although when we asked the public about smartphones, they don't always agree on the positive effect of the smartphone...

Print Based Media A Thing Of The Past

With the  introduction of eBooks and eBook Readers, one would argue that print based media is becoming a secondary and outdated source, with many eBook readers being able to store hundreds of books on one device. The most common and well known ebook reader is the Amazon kindle which was launched by Amazon in 2007 to allow customers to purchase books online and store them on multi platforms  This has created a revolution with reading making actual print books secondary and outdated.

The Revolution WILL Be Televised

A take on the original "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised", a political song addressing issues that are not publicised and often kept secret about. Smoove only this year remixed this song and in fact renamed it, saying The Revolution WILL Be Televised, the new version addresses our state of society today and how convergence is changing the way we live. How we "will be able to do everything you need from your potato couch" and how the revolution will "be recorded on miniDV and kept in the pocket, then transferred to all available formats".

The song is sung in a rap format, using different effects to represent its modernism, it is very fast representing the pace of life. The song also represents the working world "for those who won't be able to attend, except for live satellite link, due to their current revolutionary commitments". Representing the great use of technology in o ur world.

I think this song is a great conclusion of the digital convergence culture we live in. Have a listen!

Facebook More Than Just Social Networking

Facebook is known as the worlds most popular and most used social network site, with its user rate increasing each year many companys have noticed this and are taking advantage of the high user and traffic rates. The site is able to be used as a multi media marketting tool, with many companys creating pages for their own products allow the product itself to gain more of a following and fan base. Some examples of this would be Cadburrys chocolate wispa campain which brought the well love Chocolate bar into being sold all year instead of just holiday periods and Mountin Drew Energy Drink which thanks to facebook is now a competitor to Luocazade and Red Bull other well known engery drinks sold on the UK market. This shows that  Facebook is a great way of using media convergence to promote a product to a wider audince faster and easier. Allowing compaines to use many new exciting mehtods of marketing such as online games,competitions and polls this allows customers and consumers to have more power in the shaping of a product or company thanks to the introduction media convergence.

Online check in Good or Bad

Media Convergence is enriching our lives in every point, making things easier,faster and simple than ever before.  An example of this would be online check in services which some airlines offer. This allows people to check in 24 hours earlier and jump  queues, allowing faster access to flights. This  also means people can arrive at the later time and aren't forced to wait at the airport hours before. One may argue that this is a great invention, but however there are more risks within using such services E.G. increasing the risk and opportunity of fraud. Is it really a good idea to upload your personal details to a website you trust with your informaition? Which could be accessed by anyone who would have the ability to hack into the system. Yes media convergence offers many rewards but are these outweighed  by the risks, with more case of online fraud being reported and increasing  every year.