Communication Technology Update, 9th Edition

26

Media Convergence

August E. Grant, Ph.D.^*

Among all of the trends explored throughout this text, one of the most important is the emerging trend toward media convergence. At least four types of convergence have the potential to alter the communication technology landscape over the next decade. The purpose of this chapter is to explore these individual types of convergence to generate an understanding of the larger role that media convergence is playing in the adoption and evolution of these technologies.

The four trends include:

• Technological convergence, caused primarily by the transition of virtually all communication technologies from analog to digital signals that can be manipulated, stored, and duplicated using computer technology.