Participatory+culture

This wiki page is an ideal example of a participatory culture. More than a passive read, this wiki encourages participation from others. We have moved from our role as just a spectator.

COMM 3160 Fall 2011 student blog

Jenkins, H. (2006). //Convergence Culture.// New York and London: New York University Press. Convergence is best described as the shift from consumer to producer. Jenkins focuses on the economic, technological, social, and cultural aspects of convergence. The digitization of media content has to do with the technology. The entertainment industry's control of the many aspects of the production of media and the restructuring of cultural productions has to do with the economic convergence. Much of this shift has come as consumers have been encouraged to seek out new information and the resulting production created by this interaction. Some of the new forms of creativity that have emerged from consumers (now producers) are fan fiction, game modifications, "spoiling", imitation and parody. No longer is the term consumer separate from that of producer.

Shirky, C. (2008). //Here comes everybody.// New York: Penguin Publishing. Shirkey's discussions of the difference in organizing and organization points to the spontaneous participation of individuals in sharing sights. This participation is encouraged by somewhat "un-managed" sharing groups like flicker and twitter that take advantage of technology's automatic and self-synchronizing operations. No longer are we bound by an organizational editor or authority, but by each other. The internet has provided a tool for society to expand its interaction to create a massive web of social connections by individual desire and not organizational push.

Lessig, L. (2008). //Remix: Making art and commerce thrive in the hybrid economy.// New York: The Penguin Press. Lessig stresses the importance of a balance between encouraging amateur creativity and the limits of the reach of copyright's regulation of amateur production. He explores the changes that technology has made in the balance structure. This balance between consumer and producer has become more of a hybrid as society is no longer divided into singular categories.

Dean, J. (2010). //Blog Theory: Feedback and Capture in the Circuits of Drive.// Malden, MA: Polity Press. Dean uses the //Whatever blogging// section of her book to discuss the changing landscape of audience. Different from a cinematic experience, blogging initially becomes an individual experience and grows in volume by the volume of the blog communities available on the internet.