Virginia Bailey (n.d.) describes one component of convergence culture as she notes that consumers drive a flow of information across multiple platforms (p. 2). Convergence culture requires an ongoing interaction between producer and consumer. Eileen Meehan (2007) notes, "active fan/consumers of media brands create virtual communities that collaboratively produce knowledge regarding a branded artifact, generate grassroots versions of it, and follow multiple versions of the brand across multiple media" (p 603). These two point out that convergence culture is a delicate interplay of content between consumers and producers in which content is made available in many different ways by producers and consumers push that content in different ways with similar motivations to belong to a community.
Bailey (n.d.) notes that more consumer involvement leads to less centralized control (p. 2). In this sense, convergence culture makes a push toward net neutrality. Furthermore, convergence culture provides an outlet for creative engagement (the process of creating something for the purpose of being involved in a multi-platform community). I think of fan fiction (novels, spin-off cartoons, videos, etc. that are written by fans for fans containing characters, themes, settings, etc. related to an original work). Star Wars, the original film, ignited five (and now a sixth) sequels and a non-stop production of toys, books, videos, etc. much of which are created by fans. Star Wars convergence has spanned platforms and decades.
In order to be involved in convergence culture, one must consume and create. Consumer creations contribute to the cycle of convergent media by, "adding greater diversity of perspective, recirculating it, feeding it back into the mainstream media” (Bailey, n.d., p. 2). Information flowing across multiple platforms is good for culture in a limited capacity. Too much convergence can blur lines between mediums, content, and producers and consumers. I enjoy the novel experience of reading a book or going to a restaurant to watch the game rather than sitting around and streaming it on one of my devices. I also am not a big fan of fan fiction; therefore, I would rather see original films rather than played-out sequels. In this sense, the degree of involvement in convergence culture depends on personal preference.
References
Bailey, V. (n.d.) Book review: Convergence culture: Where old and new media collide. [Review of the books Convergence culture: Where old and new media collide, by Jenkins, S.] LOEX Quarterly. [online print]. Retrieved from AsULearn.
Meehan, E. R. (2007). Book reviews. [Review of the books Convergence culture: Where old and new
media collide, by Jenkins, S. and How to think about information, by Schiller, D.]. Journal of Communication 602-604.
