Clash of the Titans : impact of convergence and divergence on digital media

In last decade, the world was bewildered by the dazzling array of choices and offerings of digital technology. While digital convergence has created new possibilities in digital media, it has also created great uncertainty, fragmentation and threats to traditional media. This blossoming of innovations, as I will examine in this thesis, originates not only from the conversion of analog media into the digital domain, but more from a convergence of industries which results in a clash of technologies and cultures. This thesis explores the phenomenon of digital convergence and divergence and examines their impact on digital media. The questions this thesis seeks to answer are: What exactly is digital convergence? Is digital technology a kind of unifying glue as some may claim, or is it turning out to be a catalyst for greater differentiation? What kinds of dynamics will emerge when traditional industries play in each other's familiar turfs? And what kinds of strategies should digital media producers adopt in response? Observations seem to point towards a trend of initial chaos, greater divergence and severe technological fragmentation in the market. However, in that light, the results of this study suggest that collaboration between industry players to establish common standards, as well as the production of content to fit the locality, context and the consumption experience will be the keys to success in the world of digital convergence.

Department dc:contributor.department

Management of Technology Program.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2003

Author dc:creator

• Lee, William Chee-Leong, 1969-

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Henry Birdseye Weil.

• Management of Technology Program.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/16984

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/16984