My work experience has put me in an interesting position. I have worked in a government broadcasting station for about two years and have seen the direct benefit a taxpayer-funded station can have on the public. With unbelievably limited staff resources, we can produce programs that educate and inform the public. Bagdikian states that government funded stations

“live on the knife-edge of unstable political appropriations and conservative attacks. Most stay alive by endless efforts to raise their own money from subscribers, and are forced to run commercials that duplicate those on the commercial stations. As a result, a real spectrum of non-commercial radio and television in the United States has remained skeletal” (Bagdikian, 1997).

He couldn’t be more right.

Even though these public stations have remained “skeletal”, I believe they still have a chance to thrive. Because of the evolution of technology it has become much easier to produce content. What used to take weeks can now be done in hours with tools like Final Cut Pro. High Definition video can be recorded with a cell phone. We don’t even need to capture content from tapes because of SD cards with well over 100 gigabytes of storage. A relatively small staff can create content that would have cost hundreds of thousands of dollars ten years ago. Because of these changes, government funded stations can produce higher quality content for a fraction of the price.

Because most government-funded stations have very limited resources they are accustomed to working with a small staff. This means that even with a small staff, they will thrive with these new technologies, but to do so they must be willing to change. Even though they can produce higher quality content, most still create and distribute content the old fashioned way. Patterns of media consumption have changed. No one wants to sit through an entire city council meeting because its information, while beneficial, is most likely not applicable to them. Instead, the content must be targeted and relevant for a specific audience.

Online video distribution has created an environment that is perfect for targeted content. Instead of long and boring meetings, short segments must be created that sum up what the meeting was about and why it was important to the audience. If a program is made about something like hillside erosion, there should not be just an entire 30-minute episode about the topic, broadcast on cable television. Instead, the station could create a short and specific segment that could be embedded online. The video should be stored in a location where someone looking for information on that topic could easily locate it. It is no longer acceptable to simply broadcast video to people who probably don’t even care about it.

To sum it all up: Government broadcasting stations may be able to thrive because they have been used to working on such a small budget and now video production is much more accessible and affordable. To continue to provide a benefit to society, these stations must create content that is engaging, targeted, and relevant.
References

Bagdikian, B. (1997). The Media Monopoly. Beacon Press.

Image Creative Commons.  Some rights reserved by apdk

One of the best examples of course theory that pertains to Transmedia can be seen through Seeing What’s Next. In the book the authors explain that Undershot Customers are “consumers who consume a product but are frustrated with its limitations; they display willingness to pay more for enhancements along dimensions most important to them” (Anthony, Christensen, & Roth, 2004). People who engage with Transmedia are frustrated that they can only get a small portion of a story through one medium. They want the world to be expanded upon, and are willing to pay for comic books, video games, and other media that do that for them.

I may be able to use the theories of network effects to explain if a media property would benefit financially from Transmedia. If a show does not have that large of an audience, it may not be economically viable to create a Transmedia campaign for it. Some properties have a cult following where people create comics, video games, and other media for it. I will argue that while it may not be economically viable to create a Transmedia community, it can create a dedicated and engaged community.

Another course theory that explains how Transmedia provides a more engaging user experience is Fidler’s idea of Mediamorphosis. Transmedia is taking advantage of both social and technological innovations that have come along with Mediamorphosis. Socially, people want to dive deeper into their media. Technologically, the Internet has made it easier for the distribution of Transmedia stories across multiple platforms. I will use both Fidler and Henry Jenkins to talk about convergence culture.

 What are the three most important developments in timeline?

It may seem simple, but the most important event in the timeline for Transmedia was the creation of storytelling. Unless people had the urge to share their thoughts and experiences with others Transmedia would not exist. I will introduce Transmedia by explaining why people feel the need to share their stories with others, and how that has evolved into Transmedia.

The second important development in Transmedia was during the 1940’s and 1950’s. The star of Hopalong Cassidy bought the rights to the show and created one of the first successful Transmedia campaigns. He was able to become very successful by creating a narrative across multiple platforms. The story was told across television, newspaper, radio, and comic books.

The final important development in the evolution of Transmedia was The Matrix franchise. In Convergence Culture, Henry Jenkins explains how the movie series was expanded across multiple platforms. The reason why The Matrix is so important in the timeline is because it was such a large campaign. There are also many aspects of the campaign to show what works, and what doesn’t. I can use the information from The Matrix for suggestions on how Transmedia projects can be successful in the future.

How has your timeline (past/present/future) changed?

Originally, I thought Transmedia started within the last 10 years. I was familiar with the way The Matrix story was told across movies, video games, and anime. I had played them all and I was impressed with how the story was expanded across each medium. I did not know that a successful Transmedia campaign had been told over 50 years prior to The Matrix.

Additionally, when I started to think about the beginning of Transmedia I thought it would be much different. I started to think about the beginning, and what it boiled down to was without storytelling, there would be no Transmedia. I never thought that I would look at Transmedia from the beginning of human storytelling, but unless I focus on it I won’t be able to share why a story needs to be told across multiple mediums.

My timeline has changed a lot since I started this project. I am glad that I did the annotated bibliography. Doing the bibliography helped give me a much better understanding of the Transmedia, which hopefully will lead to a much more successful paper.

References
Anthony, S., Christensen, C., & Roth, E. (2004). Seeing What’s Next: Using the Theories of Innovation to Predict Industry Change. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press.

Jenkins, H. (2006). Convergence Culture: Where old and New Media Collide. New York, NY: New York University.

Annotated Bibliography

Brooker, W. (2009). All Our Variant Futures: The Many Narratives of Blade Runner: The Final Cut. Popular Communication, 7(2), 79-91. doi:10.1080/15405700802659056

The article focuses on Blade Runner, the cult science fiction movie. It goes into depth on how the franchise was able to reinvent itself multiple times through releasing alternate versions of the movie. It also compares Blade Runner to other Transmedia campaigns, including the Star Wars franchise.

The author, Will Booker, is a professor at Kingston University in Australia.

I will use this work to compare techniques in Transmedia storytelling. I will explore the way Blade Runner was able to change it’s narrative multiple times in comparison with Star Wars, where the story can never be changed.

Deahl, R., & Reid, C. (2011). SXSWi: All We Got Was A Bunch of New Paradigms. Publishers Weekly, 258(12), 14-16. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

This journal article highlighted different speakers and topics from SXSWi, the yearly conference in Austin, Texas. A talk was given on “What is Transmedia, and Should I Care?”. Takeaways presented in the from the conference include topics like how publishers can work with companies that create Transmedia stories through profit sharing or allowing them to keep code that they create while working on their project. Another section included information on how telling a Transmedia story can be dangerous if you make it seem too real.

The people that spoke at the conference were all experts on Transmedia. British Lawyers focused on the Intellectual Property issues, while experts from Transmedia companies focused on the other issues.

I will use the takeaways from this article to show how publishers can work with Transmedia creators. I will also use it to show the dangers of telling a too realistic story. Finally, I will use it to show other legal issues around Transmedia.

Johnson, D. (2008). A Knight of the Realm vs. the Master of Magnetism: Sexuality, Stardom, and Character Branding. Popular Communication, 6(4), 214-230. doi:10.1080/15405700802377824

When it comes to Transmedia, stars are in a unique situation. Ian McKellen plays Gandalf in Lord of the Rings, and Magneto in X-Men. His image has become known as the face of both of these characters. Because he is gay he wanted to use the analogy of the oppression in X-Men­ to that of the gay community, but he was not able to because of rights issues. The articles explore Intellectual Property issues surrounding Transmedia through an actor’s perspective.

The author, Derek Johnson, is a professor at The University of Wisconsin. He works in the Communication Arts Department.

I will use this article for examples of how Transmedia and Intellectual Property can affect an actor.

Judd Ethan Ruggill. (2009). Convergence: Always already, already. Cinema Journal48(3), 105-110. Retrieved January 22, 2011, from Project MUSE database.

Judd Ruggill explains how the time is right for Transmedia to really take off. He give examples of the interesting ways media convergence has been recently used. Examples include how Internet television shows are created inside video games, how people gather inside of virtual homes to watch a virtual television, and more.

Judd Ruggill is an assistant professor at Arizona State University in the Communication Studies department.

I will use this work to show the exciting ways Transmedia has recently been used. I will also use it to expand further on the idea of convergence culture presented by Henry Jenkins.

Kackman, M. (2008). Nothing On But Hoppy Badges: Hopalong Cassidy, William Boyd Enterprises, and Emergent Media Globalization. Cinema Journal, 47(4), 76-101. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

Hopalong Cassidy was one of the first Transmedia successes. The television show first appeared in the 1940’s, and the star of the show bought the rights to it in the 1950’s. He turned the show into a commercial success by creating a narrative across multiple media platforms including television, newspaper, radio, and comic books. In addition to those platforms, the show became a success through syndication and toy sales.

The text seemed well researched and sound. The author is an assistant professor in the Department of Radio-Television-Film at the University of Texas, Austin.

I will use this text to support my argument that the future of media will be much richer and engaging through Transmedia storytelling. I will show how Transmedia has been used for over 50 years, and how Hopalong Cassidy was one of the first successful implementations.

Sandler, K. (2009). Teaching Media Convergence. Cinema Journal, 48(3), 84-87. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

Transmedia is becoming such a powerful force courses are being taught around it. A professor realized that many people are missing the fact that younger generations do not consume media as other generations. The younger group watches tv when they want by time shifting, blogs about it, and more. Instead of only perceiving a show as television, they view it as a property that should be spread across multiple platforms.

The author is a professor at Arizona State University that focuses on media corporatization, regulation, merchandising, and marketing.

I will use this article to show how younger generations view media, and how that shows Transmedia will become more popular in the future. Because a younger generation is more willing to view a television show are a media property instead of a once a week experience, they companies will start to embrace Transmedia.

Summers, S. (2010). “Twilight is so anti-feminist that I want to cry:” Twilight fans finding and defining feminism on the World Wide Web. Computers and Composition, 315-323. Retrieved from Science Direct.

Sarah Summers explores how Transmedia has been used to provide agency to young girls through the vampire series Twilight. She looks at how discussion forums have provided an outlet for conversation about gender issues. She argues that even though the Twilight book may be anti-feminist, it has provided a way for girls to understand feminism.

The author of the article is a graduate student who teaches English classes in the Department of English at Penn State University. Even though she is not a tenured professor, her work appeared in a journal and is relevant to my research.

I will use this article to show how Transmedia is providing a richer narrative online. The Twilight issue will show how creating a narrative across multiple platforms can be a benefit to fans, even if the author had not originally intended the discussion.

The overarching theme from Evolutions and Trends in Digital Media (and the TV show Battlestar Galactica) is: This has happened before and it will happen again. It seems as if new technologies are likely to follow the pattern of those that came before it. In this case, I think that the Internet will provide an “alternative platform for the public sphere”, but it will follow the same pattern of media concentration that television, radio, and print did.

Benkler’s example of media concentration focused on “The Sinclair Broadcast Group[,] one of the largest owners of television broadcast stations in the United States”. At the time the book was written, The Sinclair Broadcast Group owned or provided programming for approximately one-third of all U.S. homes.  The author then went on to discuss 95% of all donations for The Sinclair Broadcast Group were to republican candidates. In addition to their financial support, Benkler explained how the group was able to push a political agenda by refusing to air a segment that could have made Republicans look bad.

As with other media, it is likely that a few organizations will purchase the most popular websites. This is already occurring with companies like CBS Interactive that owns Cnet, last.fm, tv.com, gamespot.com, and ZDNet (mixthenet). Another company that owns a powerful media network is Expeida Inc, which also owns Expedia.com, Hotels.com and Trip Advisor. AOL is also creating a large portfolio that includes influential websites like The Hufington Post, TechCruch, and Engadget.

Benkler seems to believe that the Internet will provide an improvement to mass media, but it is my hypothesis that the Internet is in the process of becoming a concentration of media groups that control the most popular websites. My stance is that the Internet should be open, free, and allow for a real public discourse. By using the past as an example it can be seen that we are at a “tipping point” with the Internet. Unless steps are taken that will keep the Internet open and free, we are going to be heading towards a very dark future.

Source

Benkler, Y. (2006). The Wealth of Networks: How Social Production Transforms Markets and Freedom. Yale University Press.

The responses from the 256 undergraduate students surveyed in Korea came in the form of both quantitative and qualitative data. The authors of the study hypothesized that uses and gratification motivators for DMB users would include entertainment, social interaction, permanent access, pass time, and fashion and status. The survey results indicated that there were a few differences based on gender.

Men viewed a DMB device “like a toy, and perceive[d] the ownership of a mobile phone as a status symbol, [while] females were more concerned about the generic calling function of the device” (Choi, Kim, & McMillan, 2009). Women also gave much more weight to the social benefits that came with owning a DMB device. It was very important that DMB helped them stay in contact with friends and family. The authors recommended that the gender results should be used in DMB marketing.

Analysis

While understanding the motivation for consumers to use DMB devices is important, there is a much larger question at stake: what is the future of streaming video content – live through DMB or through video on demand (VOD)? The study pointed out that DMB was an effective service because people would not have to return home at a specific time to watch TV; instead they could watch it anywhere. However, a major flaw with this is that TV consumption trends are changing. People will want to watch video on demand instead of being restricted to watch programming only when it is broadcast live.

Similar, yet significantly different than DMB, VOD provides an alternative to live television through mobile devices. Since 2009, VOD has become much more popular in the United States. Instead of watching TV when it is live, consumers in the United States are downloading and streaming shows through iTunes, Amazon, Netflix, and other services. Since people can start and stop a program at their convenience, VOD is a much more convenient way to consume content compared to DMB. If rights issues are resolved, this could become the case in Korea, and in many other places around the world. In order to stay viable long term, DMB must allow for video on demand services.

Questions for Discussion

Have you tried to live stream a video to your mobile device? If so, what was your experience?

Do you think streaming live TV has a future, or will everyone want his or her video on demand?

Do you use your mobile device as a fashion or status symbol?

Do you use your mobile device for the calling features or social functions?

Resources

Choi, Y. K., Kim, J., & McMillan, S. (2009). otivators for the intention to use mobile TV: A comparison of South Korean males and females. International Journal of Advertising (28), 147.

To analyze this argument, it is important to recognize the credentials of the author. Henry Jenkins directed MIT’s graduate program, Comparative Media Studies for 15 years. He is now a Provost Professor of Communication at the University of Southern California (University of Southern California). His previous work focused on pop culture, communities, democracy and other related topics (University of Southern California). This research led to the creation of the Convergence Culture book, and then to the formation of The Convergence Culture Consortium, a group of researchers at MIT who analyze the implications of media convergence (Convergence Culture Consortium).

In addition to his accomplishments, Henry Jenkins presents very strong evidence to show that culture is shifting towards a more participatory environment where consumers are able to expand their media experience through multiple platforms: convergence. Similarly, Transmedia is a narrative told across multiple platforms; it is one part of convergence culture. One of the strongest examples Jenkins gave to show the culture shift was through Transmedia and The Matrix. Instead of just producing movies, the creators of The Matrix crafted a media universe that consisted of an animated series, comic books, video games, and many other forms of media. Each one of these mediums provided a platform for the creators to expand the story of the series, and allowed people to take an active role in the overall story.

Jenkins also argues that the ease of online communication allows people to take an active role in the convergence of entertainment. By dong so, their media experience is expanded and a community of knowledge is created. Survivor is used as an example. Some of the fans worked together to predict which cast members would last the longest on the TV show. Others even analyzed how many pounds a cast member had lost to determine how long they were on the show. They pooled their resources and created an online community that expanded Survivor’s media scope and fan experiences.

Jenkins had a very sound research style. He presented evidence, and where applicable, discussed both sides of the argument. For example, he discussed how effective The Matrix was in using Transmedia, but admitted it “was a flawed experiment, an interesting failure”.  He explained that it was a failure because the story was not expanded upon fully in each medium. Movie critics thought The Matrix sequels were poorly written because there seemed to be gaps in the stories. Similarly, people that played the video games, read the comics, and watched the animated version thought that those stories needed more substance.

Because of Jenkins’ ability to present the research, the main argument was very convincing. Participation within the convergence culture is demonstrated very well through The Matrix and Survivor, but Jenkins’ example of convergence and fan participation within the Harry Potter franchise was excellent. A 13-year-old girl started The Daily Prophet, a “Web-based school newspaper for the fictional Hogwarts [school]”. Currently, over 100 children from around the world contribute to its publication. Kids were able to create a fictional characters based on Harry Potter characters and plotlines, while practicing their creative writing. The process helped kids learn, but also expanded upon the Harry Potter universe as well.

The author of Harry Potter encouraged the fan fiction, but when Warner Brothers bought the rights to the Harry Potter franchise, they reacted negatively. Warner Brothers sent cease and desist letters to many of the kids that had created the Harry Potter websites, but The Daily Prophet created a petition that had a “call to arms against studios that fail to appreciate their supporters”, with the intent to protect other fan-based work, even beyond Harry Potter. Currently, the studio allows fan-based work but retains the right to shut down their sites at any time. This example showed how fans have taken an active role in expanding upon, and interacting with media. It also shows the issues that will arise with both fans and copyright holders.

Henry Jenkins created the definitive work on convergence culture. His arguments were effective, and the information he presented in the book was highly relevant. It will become the basis for my term project in Evolutions and Trends on Digital Media. I will focus on how Transmedia has created a more compelling user experience. Anyone who wants understand the future of media should read this book. The contemporary examples Jenkins used can serve as good lessons for the future of media convergence.

Resources

University of Southern California. (n.d.). Faculty. Retrieved April 23, 2011, from University of Southern California: http://annenberg.usc.edu/Faculty/Communication%20and%20Journalism/JenkinsH.aspx

Convergence Culture Consortium. (n.d.). About C3. Retrieved April 23, 2011, from Convergence Culture Consortium: http://www.convergenceculture.org/aboutc3/

Jenkins, H. (2006). Convergence Culture: Where old and New Media Collide. New York, NY: New York University.

Thesis: The future of media will be much richer and engaging through Transmeida storytelling.

Statement of Intent:

When I was young I created my own form of Transmedia. I had action figures like Batman, Wolverine, and the Ninja Turtles (they are not dolls when you’re a guy!). I would take these toys and continue their stories past what I had seen in the movies or television. We can still create these stories on our own, but brands are starting to do this for us by furthering the stories of their characters through Transmedia.

Early stages of Transmedia might only include an action figure or some kind of other promotional material, but today that has changed. Entertainment companies have been able to “develop new brands and entrance, educate and engulf a global audience” (Phillips, 2010). You can see it through shows like Lost that have a web series, comic books, and more. Brands want to create a more engaged audience, and the only way to do that is through building a larger relationship between the fan and the characters. That is why this industry seems to be growing, and will likely get much larger in the future.

Source:

Jenkins, H. (2006). Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide. New York, NY: NYU Press.

Phillips, S. (2010). Transmedia: What We’ve All Been Waiting For?. License! Global, 13 (9), 10. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

Christensen identifies three main signals of change for a potential customer group. There are Nonconsumers who are “not consuming any product or consuming only in inconvenient settings”, Undershot customers “who consume a product but are frustrated with its limitations”, and Overshot customers that “stop paying for further improvements in performance that historically had merited attractive price premiums” (Christensen, 5). Microsoft could have pulled a Steve Jobs and tried to target the Undershot customers by adding extra features, but instead they targeted the Nonconsumers and Overshot Customers.

At an adoption rate of only 31% in the United States, Microsoft had the potential to reach a large group of smart phone Nonconsumers.

They tried to reach this new market the “Really” campaign. They targeted an audience that was fed up with their friends, family, or others around them who were addicted to their smart phone (surfing the web while using a urinal does take a certain type of dedication… don’t worry, it’s from the campaign, I haven’t done it). Microsoft anticipated that the Nonconsumers were worried that by buying a smart phone that they could become one of the many people addicted to their phone as well, so they invented a “phone to save us from our phones”.

In addition to the Nonconsumers, Microsoft has been able to target the Overshot customers who don’t care about new features that may come with an iPhone or Android device. Their targets are people that just want to check their email, and want giant buttons to do it.

Unfortunately for Microsoft, even though the Nonconsumers and Overshot customers seemed like good target markets, they haven’t been successful. For example, as of January 2011, Microsoft had sold a total of 1.5 million WP7’s. In comparison there are over 300,000 Android devices activated daily.

There are many possible reasons that the WP7 has been unsuccessful, but there is one that may explain why people were not actually receptive to the “Really” campaign. People may complain about their friends or family using their smart phones too much, but when it comes down to it, they want to stay just as connected as everyone else. Microsoft will have a very tough battle ahead to rebrand theWP7 (but at least it’s not the Kin). Even though targeting these customer groups seemed like a good idea, their audience was not receptive. Hopefully Microsoft can rebrand the WP7 before everyone else forgets about it as well.