Jenkins’ Covergence Culture, the Changing Smartphone Market

In yesterday’s class, we talked about Henry Jenkins, a prominent media industry analyst. According to Dr. Strangelove,  in Jenkins’ book “Convergence Culture”,  he talks about how media consumers (us) and the corporation are coming together, converging our interests. This is in stark contrast to what we have seen in things such as the Occupy movement, where citizens interests are diverging and in direct opposition of the corporations interests.

Jenkins talks about how consumers and the corporation will move together to co-author content. However, Strangelove believes we are moving away from that and more into a centralized model, rather than a decentralized one which consumers would prefer. The reasons for this are obvious. Media ownership and concentration. Ironically enough, this is the topic that as a group we decided to cover for our video documentary. Furthermore, with the recent case of Megauploads suggest, government/corporations are making industry (internet) tightly regulated.

Another thing we looked at is Apple and how they are currently positioned in the smartphone market. It appears that market dynamics are shifting, with companies planing to release smartphones cheaper in price. This may prove a challenge for the iPhone, which in some countries, such as China and India, is just too expensive to afford.

However, a company taking action is Nokia, who this week announced a cheaper Windows phone. In fact, according to Strangelove, by 2016 half of the smartphones will be less than $300. So what will Apple do? Surely the world’s #2nd most valuable company next to Exxon Mobil, which on some days is #1 when its stock rises, will continue to try and be one  step ahead of the competition. With an ever-changing market, the importance for corporations to continue to innovate to meet consumers demands and position themselves for future growth is paramount.