The traditional media as we know them will disappear and what will come or has come affects everyone.

Yesterday,
I was watching a programme on TV 📺 and one of the participants made a comment that struck a chord.

I sat up to respond to it. Then, I realized it was TV, the traditional on-the-wall screen.

It occurred to me how used we are to interactivity.

We are so used to the ability to control, share, respond, and like media content immediately we consume it.

So, if you need extra effort to consume media content, or do any of the above, it simply means that the delivering technology is outdated.

I mean the medium.

When broadcasting started, it’s miles ahead of print media.

It has greater immediacy, interactivity – the ability to switch channels or frequencies, and far more compelling imagery.

While print is able to combine only texts and images, broadcasting integrated moving pictures with animated texts.

Now, the internet has converged all those.

It brings together the features of print media, broadcasting, and the level of privacy, immediacy, and interactivity the others don’t possess.

The rate Elon Musk promotes Tucker Carlson show on X (Twitter) points 👉 clearly where the convergence is going. Not just the internet, its subset, Social Media is now the “everything platform”.

People want to take actions while consuming media content. They want to interact with the content as it plays.
Traditional media are not able to do this.

What is happening is that TV screens on our walls are now smart. They will become an extension of our smartphones on our hands.

The greatest impact will be or is on the traditional TV 📺 stations or channels. Those who bank on their satellite or cable channel numbers.

They need to move ahead or catch up.

The other option is that the spectrum is liberated to allow interactivity. Then, the remote controller becomes enabled keyboard. The cable or satellite 🛰 providers establish servers. I bet broadcast engineers understand what I’m trying to explain better than I do.

Smart TVs are doing something close to this. They allow YouTube, Netflix, … and browsing the Internet.

However, channels on cables and satellite platform do not have interactivity. Those are the traditional forms that I see going obsolete soon.

People are no longer consuming only the primary content; they spend equal or more time going through reactions and comments.

#digital #socialmedia #Internet #broadcasting #media #communication #convergence

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I remain Ndụka Odo, an experienced multimedia practitioner and educator empowering people and businesses with media and technology.