Convergence, Ahead of Print. This article maps out and analyzes relationships shaping production in a growing cultural field of online gaming media production called ‘Actual Play’ (AP). AP occupies an ambiguous economic space between fan production and…
Convergence, Ahead of Print. Digital patronage is an emergent revenue model in which fans provide recurring financial support to a content creator, as exemplified through platforms like Twitch and Patreon. Whereas previous research has investigated cre…
Convergence, Ahead of Print. The current study adopted a mixed-methods approach to examine both qualitative and quantitative data of Chinese WeChat users’ strategies in response to COVID-19 conspiracy theories disseminated in WeChat. Thematic analysis …
Convergence, Ahead of Print. Microtransactions are a relatively new feature of video game software involving the purchase of in-game items, often using real money. Players may use these transactions to purchase in-game advantages, or cosmetic features …
Convergence, Ahead of Print. In recent years, location-based real-time dating apps like Grindr and Tinder have assumed an increasingly pivotal role in brokering socio-sexual relations between men seeking men and have proven to be fertile ground for the…
Convergence, Ahead of Print. The COVID-19 pandemic has made videoconferencing tools an essential part of our lives as these tools are what allowed us to keep in touch in a time of social distancing. Having said that, however, many people have found vir…
Convergence, Ahead of Print. The proliferation of conspiracy theories surrounding George Soros and the ‘Globalist invasion’ had been concentrated primarily in Eastern Europe, Russia and the United States. However, since Jair Bolsonaro’s presidential vi…
Convergence, Ahead of Print. This paper assesses how the ‘Great Replacement’ conspiracy theory (the idea that ethnically homogeneous populations in European nations are being ‘replaced’ by people of non-European origin) is articulated online by three d…
Convergence, Ahead of Print. This paper documents an analytical autoethnographic approach to the development of a digital storytelling (DST) app for enhancing young adults’ employability prospects. Development is rooted in the classical DST approach pr…
Convergence, Ahead of Print. Esports contests at the highest levels frequently involve millions of dollars in prize money and spectatorship numbers in six or seven figures. Given these opportunities for financial success and public visibility, players …