In the second part of Jenkins blog post entitled Critical Information Studies for a Participatory Culture he discusses theoutcomes of a conference about media reform from the perspective of participatory culture. And looks at what factors block his ideals of a more a participatory society by looking at 10 keys points, and how a participatory culture can further society as a whole.
The first point he makes relates to public policies based on ‘fear’ or what I identify as Cohen’s “moral panics”. A moral panic is when a person, a group, or a set of conditions become defined and labeled as a threat to a society’s values and interests at particular point in time. These panics are then stylized, stereotyped and amplified by the mass media to present an unrealistic view of the actual threat to the masses. In this context Jenkins argues fear is being generated about cultural change online, is being generated about what online access is doing to today’s youth, and finally that the myths of the dangers online are being sensationalized. Jenkins posits that these concerns should not be used to block user participation but rather be used to raise focus on “ethical responsibility” and “civic awareness” so that users can make better assessments of online dangers so they can be avoided. This would decrease the “role of ignorance and fear in public debate” about new media. I largely agree with this position but also believe this era of fear is natural by the dominant generation and as online participation become legitimatized and part of society through a process of online commoditization that these fears will dissipate leaving a vibrant participatory culture behind.
His second point relates to overcoming the digital divide and how access to networked computers is crucial to a participatory culture and that those who have access will be at a great advantage as they will be able to more freely participate than those with restricted access. I reflected on this and thought about how cultures who do not have access to networked computers may still be able to actively participate via internet connected mobile devices .In a presentation by Anand Giridharadas on the ABC recently he mentioned that soon more people will have access to a mobile phone then a toilet globally and that India is in the midst of massive mobile phone uptake which is changing their social structure. Thus I think these new mobile devices could fill the digital divide which Jenkins is concerned about.
Jenkins next refers to how participatory culture may affect schooling as the informal learning which takes place through online social ties within online social networks and online interest driven networks. This led me to consider the great importance of integrity and authenticity of information garnered by users online as falsehoods could rapidly spread in online social networks and become truth. But how do online users easily assess this? And do users know that they need to assess this as they have usually got data from reliable old media sources. In the positive however these online networks also create a new environment rich which both produces and shares media in Lessigs remix culture. It is important however that these tools of a participatory culture are accessible on the mobile devices I mentioned earlier as these will possibly be the ubiquitous internet access point across all cultures globally.
These social and interest driven networks will also have the ability to produce a collective intelligence as described by Suriowiekis term “wisdom of crowds”. More minds collectively trying to solve problems will lead to better more considered solutions that take into account many different social and cultural contexts. Thus the more people who have the ability to participate in these networked think tanks the better of the entire community will be, producing stronger societal bonds between participants in the process. Also the participants may be exposed to the ethical, and cultural views of the other members of society which they may not have previously considered which may differ greatly from their own.
It is this exposure which Jenkins then moves to when discussing how a participatory culture would promote diversity, thus making cultural diversity easily distributable. In doing so the world views of participants would be greatly broadened and enrich their own cultures. In this point Jenkins notes that danah Boyd and S. Craig Watkins feel that social networks actually only strengthen existing ties and in essence act as online gated communities. I do not agree with this as I think it is only true of bounded social networks such as Facebook, however unbounded social networks like Twitter allow for open discussion and sharing in a public space, even though there is the problem with their being much more ‘noise’ in these open networks. I think These kind of unbounded social networks may also negate the segregation of cyberspace as proposed by Sholz and mentioned by Jenkins in this reading as the ability that these networks provide to be able to create multiple selves online allow for the involvement in many different communities thus allowing for participants to explore many facets of themselves freely.
Jenkins next mentions copyright and fair use. Whilst I agree that there is a need for a less restrictive licensing system to create a vibrant participatory culture I think the transition to this vibrancy will take some time to come to fruition. The transition from copyright to creative commons will be resisted by old media as they will protect their existing economic and distribution models for as long as they can. However as new media asserts itself in the next 1-2 generations a shift will take place from users being consumers, to them being prosumers (those who both consume and produce). This will mean there will more audience created overflow materials which will also act as an audience driven recommendation system which lead back to the original professional content. In this prosumer era creative commons will play an important role as it is an easily understandable, usable means of licensing remix material that promote original pieces of media within an active participatory culture.
As mentioned previously, Media created by prosumers in a creative commons driven participatory culture is effectively a system of free advertising via an audience recommendation system. In this reading by Jenkins he discusses the lack of revenue sharing and quotes Orielly where he states “we make all the content, and they make all the money”. But I think this not always the case as there are cases where some bloggers and YouTube channels make money via the online advertising models made available to them. Thus it is the battle for attention that is the new economy in a participatory culture that is built around engaging online content that people want to engage with. Thus if you can gain a wealth of attention you will still be financially rewarded and get the slice of the pie you deserve. Other users of these tools are getting a free distribution platform which was never present in old media and thus can even in the smallest way add to cultural content and sharing their thoughts and creations freely on a global scale. A participatory culture thus enriches us through the exchange of information and ideas rather than purely financial wealth.
Social media is designing a new civic media as newspapers and other old media producers are folding in the face of economic rationalism. This was discussed recently on the ABC by John Nichols where he posited the lack of resources behind citizen journalism will never allow for the same in-depth analysis into social and political issues seen in the past by journalist with old media organizations. I agree with this notion as whilst Jenkins participatory culture allows for users to be involved in discussions and alert people happening at a particular moment in time, it doesn’t not allow for the creation of in-depth content which often is the starting point for these discussions, in-depth content which is more often than not from journalists with old media. Citizen journalism also then raises the question again of integrity and authenticity as a participatory culture can quickly spread information thus the audience needs to be savvier in what they consume. So in a participatory culture it is important to acknowledge the role of and value of the old media journalist, and the in-depth analysis they are able to do. And acknowledge that they are still required to give this analysis so that existing ideologies can be thoughtfully challenged or analyzed thus enabling an active democracy.
The ability to think globally has been assisted by the internet as we now have access to news from any number of sources around the world which has furthered the politicization of the world as media on issues become more visible and sharable on a global scale. In the old media we were restricted to the news which was presented to us on the Television, Radio and print medias. With new media we can source news from where we choose free of the constraints of time and space via mobile internet. Thus the audience is now more aware of and sensitive to issues on a global scale, issues which may be affecting people from cultures very different from their own and in doing so open the eyes of the audience who can share this information via online social and interest networks which further promote the democracy creating greater political transparency via new media as states can no longer easily ignore important issues.
In Jenkins final point he discusses activism and how it could be restructure by participatory culture as it will be a widely accessible public forum for the discussion public policies. It is hard to argue here when looking at the current events in the Middle East, particularly the political uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia for which much value was placed on the power of Facebook and its networking abilities further stressing the value of a participatory culture in democracy.
In conclusion Jenkins presents a series of key talking points which overall I agree with some objections made earlier in this review. Many of these ideas will develop as we transfer in the generations to come from old to new media and warrant ongoing analysis during this transition – which was obviously the point of this blog post by Jenkins. So for me it achieved its goal of making me think about and reflect on each point from my own social context, and made me consider how a participatory culture changes how we receive, interpret, create and share information, and how we need to be aware of the consequences and rewards of these changes.
The first point he makes relates to public policies based on ‘fear’ or what I identify as Cohen’s “moral panics”. A moral panic is when a person, a group, or a set of conditions become defined and labeled as a threat to a society’s values and interests at particular point in time. These panics are then stylized, stereotyped and amplified by the mass media to present an unrealistic view of the actual threat to the masses. In this context Jenkins argues fear is being generated about cultural change online, is being generated about what online access is doing to today’s youth, and finally that the myths of the dangers online are being sensationalized. Jenkins posits that these concerns should not be used to block user participation but rather be used to raise focus on “ethical responsibility” and “civic awareness” so that users can make better assessments of online dangers so they can be avoided. This would decrease the “role of ignorance and fear in public debate” about new media. I largely agree with this position but also believe this era of fear is natural by the dominant generation and as online participation become legitimatized and part of society through a process of online commoditization that these fears will dissipate leaving a vibrant participatory culture behind.
His second point relates to overcoming the digital divide and how access to networked computers is crucial to a participatory culture and that those who have access will be at a great advantage as they will be able to more freely participate than those with restricted access. I reflected on this and thought about how cultures who do not have access to networked computers may still be able to actively participate via internet connected mobile devices .In a presentation by Anand Giridharadas on the ABC recently he mentioned that soon more people will have access to a mobile phone then a toilet globally and that India is in the midst of massive mobile phone uptake which is changing their social structure. Thus I think these new mobile devices could fill the digital divide which Jenkins is concerned about.
Jenkins next refers to how participatory culture may affect schooling as the informal learning which takes place through online social ties within online social networks and online interest driven networks. This led me to consider the great importance of integrity and authenticity of information garnered by users online as falsehoods could rapidly spread in online social networks and become truth. But how do online users easily assess this? And do users know that they need to assess this as they have usually got data from reliable old media sources. In the positive however these online networks also create a new environment rich which both produces and shares media in Lessigs remix culture. It is important however that these tools of a participatory culture are accessible on the mobile devices I mentioned earlier as these will possibly be the ubiquitous internet access point across all cultures globally.
These social and interest driven networks will also have the ability to produce a collective intelligence as described by Suriowiekis term “wisdom of crowds”. More minds collectively trying to solve problems will lead to better more considered solutions that take into account many different social and cultural contexts. Thus the more people who have the ability to participate in these networked think tanks the better of the entire community will be, producing stronger societal bonds between participants in the process. Also the participants may be exposed to the ethical, and cultural views of the other members of society which they may not have previously considered which may differ greatly from their own.
It is this exposure which Jenkins then moves to when discussing how a participatory culture would promote diversity, thus making cultural diversity easily distributable. In doing so the world views of participants would be greatly broadened and enrich their own cultures. In this point Jenkins notes that danah Boyd and S. Craig Watkins feel that social networks actually only strengthen existing ties and in essence act as online gated communities. I do not agree with this as I think it is only true of bounded social networks such as Facebook, however unbounded social networks like Twitter allow for open discussion and sharing in a public space, even though there is the problem with their being much more ‘noise’ in these open networks. I think These kind of unbounded social networks may also negate the segregation of cyberspace as proposed by Sholz and mentioned by Jenkins in this reading as the ability that these networks provide to be able to create multiple selves online allow for the involvement in many different communities thus allowing for participants to explore many facets of themselves freely.
Jenkins next mentions copyright and fair use. Whilst I agree that there is a need for a less restrictive licensing system to create a vibrant participatory culture I think the transition to this vibrancy will take some time to come to fruition. The transition from copyright to creative commons will be resisted by old media as they will protect their existing economic and distribution models for as long as they can. However as new media asserts itself in the next 1-2 generations a shift will take place from users being consumers, to them being prosumers (those who both consume and produce). This will mean there will more audience created overflow materials which will also act as an audience driven recommendation system which lead back to the original professional content. In this prosumer era creative commons will play an important role as it is an easily understandable, usable means of licensing remix material that promote original pieces of media within an active participatory culture.
As mentioned previously, Media created by prosumers in a creative commons driven participatory culture is effectively a system of free advertising via an audience recommendation system. In this reading by Jenkins he discusses the lack of revenue sharing and quotes Orielly where he states “we make all the content, and they make all the money”. But I think this not always the case as there are cases where some bloggers and YouTube channels make money via the online advertising models made available to them. Thus it is the battle for attention that is the new economy in a participatory culture that is built around engaging online content that people want to engage with. Thus if you can gain a wealth of attention you will still be financially rewarded and get the slice of the pie you deserve. Other users of these tools are getting a free distribution platform which was never present in old media and thus can even in the smallest way add to cultural content and sharing their thoughts and creations freely on a global scale. A participatory culture thus enriches us through the exchange of information and ideas rather than purely financial wealth.
Social media is designing a new civic media as newspapers and other old media producers are folding in the face of economic rationalism. This was discussed recently on the ABC by John Nichols where he posited the lack of resources behind citizen journalism will never allow for the same in-depth analysis into social and political issues seen in the past by journalist with old media organizations. I agree with this notion as whilst Jenkins participatory culture allows for users to be involved in discussions and alert people happening at a particular moment in time, it doesn’t not allow for the creation of in-depth content which often is the starting point for these discussions, in-depth content which is more often than not from journalists with old media. Citizen journalism also then raises the question again of integrity and authenticity as a participatory culture can quickly spread information thus the audience needs to be savvier in what they consume. So in a participatory culture it is important to acknowledge the role of and value of the old media journalist, and the in-depth analysis they are able to do. And acknowledge that they are still required to give this analysis so that existing ideologies can be thoughtfully challenged or analyzed thus enabling an active democracy.
The ability to think globally has been assisted by the internet as we now have access to news from any number of sources around the world which has furthered the politicization of the world as media on issues become more visible and sharable on a global scale. In the old media we were restricted to the news which was presented to us on the Television, Radio and print medias. With new media we can source news from where we choose free of the constraints of time and space via mobile internet. Thus the audience is now more aware of and sensitive to issues on a global scale, issues which may be affecting people from cultures very different from their own and in doing so open the eyes of the audience who can share this information via online social and interest networks which further promote the democracy creating greater political transparency via new media as states can no longer easily ignore important issues.
In Jenkins final point he discusses activism and how it could be restructure by participatory culture as it will be a widely accessible public forum for the discussion public policies. It is hard to argue here when looking at the current events in the Middle East, particularly the political uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia for which much value was placed on the power of Facebook and its networking abilities further stressing the value of a participatory culture in democracy.
In conclusion Jenkins presents a series of key talking points which overall I agree with some objections made earlier in this review. Many of these ideas will develop as we transfer in the generations to come from old to new media and warrant ongoing analysis during this transition – which was obviously the point of this blog post by Jenkins. So for me it achieved its goal of making me think about and reflect on each point from my own social context, and made me consider how a participatory culture changes how we receive, interpret, create and share information, and how we need to be aware of the consequences and rewards of these changes.
