Analyze the significance of the technologies used for distribution in the media

area you have studied.

In our contemporary world the technologies used for distributions in the media
are very important. From adaptive streaming algorithms to personalization
streaming algorithms, corporate giants find intricate ways to engage their
audiences with mesmerizing content all over the world. This essay will delve into
this topic and will be theoretically grounded in Henry Jenkins’s fandom theory, as
well as the Walled Garden theory, exploring how exactly the technologies affect
our lives now.

For starters, adaptive streaming algorithms and personalization algorithms help

companies like Netflix or Disney (and other streaming services) secure their
customers with endless content to their liking. DOC, or Dynamic Content
Optimizer, is one of the things highly used by corporate giants nowadays. This
feature enables content to be adjusted in real-time based on customers'
interactions and behaviors online to make it more relevant and interesting to
each individual user. It improves engagement for people, enhancing their
experience, but, most importantly, it helps with a better understanding of the
viewer's preferences, allowing businesses to refine their strategies and choose
what to produce next. Moreover, the DOC is not the only technological feature
companies rely on. Machine learning algorithms contribute to better experiences
for the audience just as much, facilitating personalized content being
recommended to them. These types of algorithms analyze the viewing history of
a user, their ratings of the shows, and more, and then suggest similar content to
what they'd liked before, making the audience devour one show after another.

With companies knowing what their customers want, they can easily create
walled gardens—closed ecosystems with exclusive content. Media
conglomerates like Disney or Netflix, each with their own streaming platforms,
offer products that can only be purchased or seen there. Technology like DRM
(Digital Rights Management) easily enables that. From Stranger Things, the
most-streamed program of 2022 that can only be watched on Netflix, to Disney’s
original cartoons, the companies force users to subscribe to multiple services at
once to access their favorite movies or TV series. Seemingly, the companies not
only try to make likable content because it is reminiscent of something or to
re-cell the old one, but they also increase its quality. CDNs (Content Delivery
Networks) and VMAF (Video Multimethod Assessment Fusion) help the audience
get their content faster because they are getting it from the servers, which are
located closer to them, and with better visual quality as well. Hence, the
technologies used for content distribution make it easy to give exceptional
content to the customers, further reinforcing the walled gardens upon them.

Additionally, Henry Jenkins’s fandom theory emphasizes the active participation

of audiences in consumption, something that corporate giants have learned to
manipulate their audiences with. Social media like YouTube, Instagram,
Facebook, or TikTok enable communities to unite over their favorite things, from
cartoons to TV shows. Technologies that support easy content creation, editing,
and sharing your ideas empower fans to contribute actively to the media
distribution. These apps use personalized algorithms just as much, providing
endless content to a user’s liking and recommending something the algorithms
think they may enjoy. It enhances people’s experiences on these apps,
sometimes engaging them in new things, and forcing them to purchase
something from bigger corporations. Just like that, the hashtag Stranger Things
has over 12.8 million posts on TikTok and is recommended to people regularly
because of its popularity. Meanwhile, some titles, like The Lord of the Rings
trilogy, even have YouTube channels dedicated just for them. An example of this
would be the channel called Nerd of the Rings, with 1.06 million subscribers.

In conclusion, the technologies used for distribution in the media are pivotal in
creating audience engagement, ways of consumption, and business strategies.
As David Buckingham said, “A focus on Identity requires us to pay closer
attention to the ways in which media and technologies are used in everyday life
and their consequences for social groups”, highlighting the importance of the
tools that are being used nowadays not only by sellers, but by the purchasers,
too.