Archives: MCWC

Media Convergence...
Posted in MCWC on November 30th, 2007. By Manuel Castells.

Convergence is the buzz word in the global media industry nowadays. But its meaning is unclear, and its use is often misleading.

For most media companies, convergence refers to the technological synergy between various delivery platforms of content. In this view, digitization allows the same audiovisual product to be distributed in different formats via open TV; pay per view, cable or satellite TV; the Internet; dvd and video; mobile phones, radio (in the case of audio); podcasting, videoconsoles, books, magazines, and any support platform that can be formatted to specific versions of a given product. (more…)

The Burma Syndrome...
Posted in MCWC on September 6th, 2007. By Manuel Castells.

Burma (or Myanmar as it is now called) has suffered under the grip of a military dictatorship for more than two decades. This authoritarian rule is in contradiction with the burmese culture, deeply informed by buddhism and tolerance.The pro-democracy movement, whose symbol is a woman, Aung San Suu Kyi, a Nobel Prize winner for her contribution to peace and freedom from a non-violent philosophy, has staged several major protests, particularly in 1988, to unseat the rulers by the pressure of the people and of international public opinion. (more…)

The only Castells Summary of the project Internet Catalonia on the uses of the Internet...
Posted in MCWC on July 5th, 2007. By Manuel Castells.

On June 25th 2007 were presented to the press in Barcelona the findings of a major research program on the uses of Internet in Catalonia, conducted between 2001 and 2007 by 60 researchers of the Open University of Catalonia (UOC) co-directed by Manuel Castells and Imma Tubella. (more…)

The Rise of Mass Self-Communication...
Posted in MCWC on May 31st, 2007. By Manuel Castells.

Human life is organized around communication. Communication is the process of exchange of data, signals, and codes to create meaning. The character and effects of communication largely depend on the technology of communication. Power, in all societies historically known, is based on the control of communication and manipulation of information. But some technologies make it easier than others to monopolize the means of communication. Thus, in the industrial society, mass communication was organized around the mass media, such as television, radio, mass newspapers and magazines, that made possible centralized broadcasting systems and required substantial access to capital and (more…)