Abstract
Convergence seems to be a new concept related to the field of communication. Nevertheless it is important to remark that the idea of convergence is a classic one in order to understand the relationship between humans and communication processes. The present chapter depicts the evolution of convergence as a theoretical framework, from philosophical perspectives such as Simondon’s idea of genesis and McLuhan’s laws of media to the contemporary approaches such as Jenkin’s convergence culture. Instead of thinking of convergence as a contemporary characteristic of communication environment, or merely a technological objectuality, we propose to rethink it as a reloaded term used as a word rather than as an abstract concept in current literature. Since words can develop many meanings, convergence has been used to a variety of aspects in recent years.
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Notes
- 1.
For a further debate on the techno-logy (or techno-logos) and its relation with the technique, see Roncallo-Dow (2012).
- 2.
About the tetrad, Marchessault (2005) adds: “[…it] is a creative tool for thinking about objects historically and phenomenologically. […]. The tetrad is not a scientific instrument that will reveal hard facts but it is an experimental technique that may open up uncharted relations. Its dynamic structure seeks to translate the histories embedded in objects into a creative metaphor” (p. 223).
- 3.
Our translation.
- 4.
“If Wired magazine declared Marshall McLuhan the patron saint of the digital revolution, we might well describe the late MIT political scientist Ithiel de Sola Pool as the prophet of media convergence. Pool’s Technologies of Freedom (1983) was probably the first book to lay out the concept of convergence as a force of change within the media industries” (2006, p. 10).
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Our translation.
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Arango-Forero, G., Roncallo-Dow, S., Uribe-Jongbloed, E. (2016). Rethinking Convergence: A New Word to Describe an Old Idea. In: Lugmayr, A., Dal Zotto, C. (eds) Media Convergence Handbook - Vol. 1. Media Business and Innovation. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-54484-2_2
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