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This article provides information about the convergence of information and communication technology:
Convergence in communication technologies means that different kinds of communication technologies are coming closer to each other. During the past few decades of rapid technological advancements the boarders between telecommunications, the Internet and mass media are receding. The convergence of communication technologies means one terminal device, for example a mobile telephone or a digital television can be used for various different services.
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In order to survive in the digital era most of the mass media sources find ways to get involved with the new technology, Internet. Due to the high demand for the new media called Internet, other sources of media such as newspapers and other TV channels started taking advantage of this source and- began to make their homepages on Internet sites. The difference between the Internet and other media sources is that Internet provides Information technology, such as digital recording system, voices, images and broadcasting media etc. all in one medium.
The peculiarity of the emerging information society also is that both information and communication technologies such as telephone, computer, cable television and other media technologies are all merging together to form one entity working for the effective communication of information compressing time and space to almost nil. Digitisation, convergence of technologies, and networking (all the specialties of post modern technologies) lead to a transformation in the nature and expectations of mass media.
These technological advancements made mass media more interactive. For example SMS voting became popular in the present times and increased audience interactivity in the case of both print (such as newspaper) and broadcasting media (such as television and radio). The convergence of media technologies and the digital forms of access and delivery offer even more ways for the audiences to engage with the media.
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The convergence of wireless form of communication allows the audience to a higher interactive platform. For example an IGNOU student sitting at the study centre can engage in a discussion with the subject expert at the University centre also by viewing him on the TV screen. Another example is how some official web sites invite audience to vote and decide what is being broadcasted or a viewer can a ask a question to the anchor of a programme while it is being broadcasted either in TV or radio.
It is important to state that the convergence seems to be a condition of all contemporary media and the media technologies; all contemporary media can be associated with other media forms and the boundary between them are getting less clear as new technology developments enters the market. New technologies that allow convergence between televisions and computers have been developed. Experts even predict a total convergence of television and Internet where Internet is available through TV sets.