Tony Hawk, you're my hero.

The more I explore YouTube, the more I see how simplistically complicated it really is. I could be totally off on this idea, but I sort of feel YouTube to be a combination of convergence, collective intelligence, and transmedia storytelling. Now, let me explain....

As stated by our text, Convergence Culture, each of these terms, individually, can be defined as:

• Convergence: The flow of content across multiple media platforms, and, the cooperation between multiple media industries.


• Collective Intelligence: The ability of virtual communities to leverage the knowledge and expertise of their members.


• Transmedia Storytelling: Stories that unfold across multiple media platforms, with each medium making distinctive contributions to our understanding of the world, a more integrated approach to franchise.

Now, I'll keep explaining...

After viewing this Guitar Hero World Tour commercial, I hope that several different mediums were apparent to you.

This is a commercial, which is a parody of a famous movie advertising a video game based on music starring professional athletes, on the Internet.

Now, I would hope that the convergence is rather apparent. There are six different mediums represented in a 30 second commercial. I think that collective intelligence is not too hidden either. Although a majority of the mediums were all professionally created, their placement on YouTube was not, and can easily be sought out by anyone who wishes to view it.

Finally, transmedia storytelling, slightly less self-explanatory. Although the merging of all six mediums does not come together to display an overall message, some extra knowledge is required.

Take for instance, if you are not very familiar with professional athletes. In this particular commercial, Alex Rodriguez (baseball), Tony Hawk (skateboarding), Kobe Bryant (basketball) and Michael Phelps (swimming), are featured. And each male athlete is wearing a piece of clothing that represents their particular sport. The first time that I saw this commercial I did not recognize Tony Hawk, therefore was very confused as to why one guy was wearing a helmet. I still enjoyed the commercial prior to learning who he was, however it made much more sense once I could identify with each character.

Other instances where this may be helpful? Younger generations (which presumably, this commercial is targeted for) are less likely to recognize this infamous scene from the film Risky Business which was originally performed by Tom Cruise. Again, the advertisement will still be enjoyable because it combines famous athletes with a popular video game, however, the entire effect will not be felt.