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Defining Cross Media

Written by Martin Thörnkvist | April 28, 2010 | 2 comments

Lars Christiansen, Copenhagen Bombay, put the finger on “the problem” when he introduced himself. “I started in multi media which turned into new media. Now we say we do cross media, but somebody told me we do trans media”.

Karin Ryding, Ozma Speldesign, did a nice one sentence definition “for me cross media is the use of different media formats at the same time”. Meaning you need to have the whole picture in mind when you are working out your idea, not first do one media and then at some other time do the same thing on another media.

Later on in the discussion Lars said that “we need people that know how to write for different media platforms, at least people that are good at one and know about all of the rest”. I think this is where we all are moving right now, or need to move. We are becoming some kind of renaissance people, that are great in different areas that we before used to separate. But as those areas merge it becomes easier for us to be good at many of them.

Maybe the cross in cross media has played out it’s role? Maybe all media is more or less using different medias to express them selves, meaning that all media today is cross media. The prefixes we tend to use when something new comes along has a meaning in the beginning to say “hey, listen, this is something new”.

I suggest we say we do media and focus on the unique ideas, characteras, engagement we create and talk only secondly about which category to put it in.

Am I onto something? Or do we need prefixes and categorizing to understand what we discuss?

Category: Nordic Game
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Comments

2 Responses to “Defining Cross Media”

  1. Cecilie Stranger-Thorsen
    April 29th, 2010 @ 06:39

    I share your and Lars’ frustration over the need for buzzwords to communicate innovation, multimedia, cross-media, trans-media, 360 degrees… the labels loose their power once it’s been put on a certain amount of old stuff :)

    But I think it’s important to find a way of speaking about new ways of creating experiences / universes and telling stories, because even though you’re right: there is a need for producers to move comfortably through different forms of expression – and for media giants to rethink their ‘production line’.

    Markets and customers are fast, organisations and people’s mindset are slow. To change it, we need to name it.

  2. Karin Ryding
    April 29th, 2010 @ 02:03

    I agree with Cecilie. As long as there is a problem it needs to be named. It’s temporary solution that can seem a bit silly each time a new buzz word comes along. But it’s the same situation you meet for example within the feminist movement, where you need to organize women only events such as Geek Girl Meet Up, even though the final goal is not needing to have the gender separation at all.

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