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Chapter 4 Resource Demo

Page history last edited by wikiuser0026 9 years, 11 months ago

What Constitutes Meaningful Participation?

 

Introduction:

This chapter focuses on how the shifting relations between media producers and their audiences are transforming the concept of meaningful participation. Throughout the chapter there is an encounter between the audiences members and the producers about whether or not how each contribute toward usage of the "digital revolution." There is no definite explanation as to siding with either of the concepts of participation, but both are kept in mind when focusing on what changes and remains. As we go through this chapter we find out that participation is not fairly considered and available to all and points towards fundamental shifts in the audiences position.   

 

Sections Guide:

 

Lurking versus Peripheral Participation:

 This section mainly focused on the difference between a "Lurker", someone who drew from the community but didn't contribute back, and Peripheral Participation, individuals who motivate others by representing "baby steps" toward a greater engagement. Both seem to captivate and drive others in creating or producing new content while generating value to critics and curators. Furthermore, this section explains how "lurkers" can motivate and even have people produce or share content because of their awareness to participate considering the fact they are in the lower barrier for participation where as peripheral participation describes how newcomers learn and observe skilled participants giving them access to the establishments ongoing operations. 

 

A Brief History of Participatory Culture:

Participatory culture is a culture in which the public are not just the consumers, but the producers and contributors as well. Some argue that giving the public to much access would result from and create shifts in ownership structures while others say circulating across diverse communities around media can overcome economic and political obstacles to fuller participation. Questions over who has access will arise if we don't separate the different kinds of control over channels of communication and distinguish between what kinds of information can be applied to television networks and telecommunications companies that can determine who has access or liability when content is being shared. 

 

Resistance versus Participation:

The "resistance" is held by the writers who have more media power and have dominance over language that is deployed in the critical and cultural studies while "participation" is in the hands of citizens and audience members. Even though the "resistance" have also embraced the focus on participation they want to see what kind of market they are participating in. Often, the kinds of participation companies desire are "brand communities" which is when a company interacts with their audience. By doing this they connect within the audience through social bonds and hopefully gain customer loyalty, but some companies forge such active and affective ties with their audience.   

 

Audiences versus Publics:

This section focuses on the idea that meaningful participation is one where online members are more of a public participant rather than just an audience participant. "Publics" or "fandoms" are participants who not only offer attention but also call for attention. They are a community who, through diverse social and political views, work collectively towards shaping the decisions of many media industries. Some examples mentioned in the book where soap opera fans. Overall, this section focused on the idea that meaningful participation is one where participants are creating social change other than just being a passive fan or "audience."

 

Participation versus Collaboration:

This section points out that online users need to move towards a more collaborative way rather than just solely being a participant. A collaborator is one who, with the use of online platforms, can help improve media companies whereas a participant just contributes to ideas. The difference is that with collaboration network communities work together towards challenging social order, where if companies do not act then real damage can occur. Participation is just merely a fan who just sits there and once in a while circulates information. They are not as active as contributors. 

 

 Hearing versus Listening:

Found and argued by many is the idea that in order to have a meaningful participation in the online community, media companies and brands must also participate (or "listen") if they want to continue to be successful. This section pointed out that in order for companies to avoid errors they must move towards a listening culture rather than a hearing one. As mentioned in the book, hearing is a physical act of receiving a message whereas listening is a process of waiting for, concentrating on and responding to a message. By listening, companies are developing relationships with their audiences as well as benefiting their company. Some examples of not listening was advertising agencies and an example illustrated in the book for active listeners was Domino's Pizza. Overall, if one does not actively listen to its audience or collaborators then the reputation of their brand or company is damaged. 

 

  Everyday Patterns of Co-Creation:

This section focuses on the participants that enhance the experience of music, movies, shows, and etc. Early in the section, Domb suggests that participants are both amateur and commercial and form value-networks. Here, each participant is contributing some sort of value to the overall experience. Audiences are not only valued as customers but as active multipliers who contributed symbolic value to the community. The example discussed through the text is the Tecnobrega community. Axel Bruns also offers a framework that labels this kind of audience participation as 'produsage'. This is a merging of production and usage. Another example of this mentioned in the text is Soulja Boy's hit 'Crank Dat'.

 

The Problem of Unequal Participation:

This section essentially talks about how there is unequal participation online. This can be due to household incomes, access to internet, and lack of skills. Many of the most powerful efforts to broaden participation are from communities working together to overcome constraints on their communication capacities. One of these projects is called Radio Tijeras which trained garment workers in audio production practices. Participants of this project learned how to create newscasts, record poems, generate public service announcements, and capture oral history. Facebook and other social network sites also often operate as digital gated communities, where it protects participants from online contact with people outside their social circle as well as making it easier and quicker to communicate with friends and families. 

 

Conclusion: 

In conclusion, this chapter focused on the relationships between media producers and their audience and illustrated what constituted as meaningful participation. According to the reading, participation can be dated back in history, but as of now there has become a shift where more power, through the use of collaboration, rests on the active audience rather than solely on the media producers. A meaningful participant is not an audience lurking and benefiting from others contributions. Rather a meaningful participant is someone considered as a public who is actively engaging and collaborating by either influencing media producers decisions or creating social change. They are a community who are, as mentioned, produsage; producing as well as using media to create something new that will be beneficial to either the outside world or media producers. However, if media producers just sit there and hear these online communities then their brand or product may be damaged by the powerful participation that online communities have. 

 

5 Important Quotes: 

 

  1. "The public sphere 'is not an arena of market relations but rather one of discursive relations, a theater for debating rather than for buying and selling'." (p. 173)
  2. "Digital tools 'enable anyone, anywhere, to go through his or her practical life, observing the social environment through new eyes-the eyes of someone who could actually interject a thought, a criticism, or a concern into the public debate. Individuals become less passive and thus more engaged observers of social spaces that could potentially become subjects for political conversation'." (p. 159) 

     3.  "Limited online participation may reflect a lack of disposable time, especially among those who lack digital access in the workplace, just as it reflects a lack of disposable income." (Seiter 2008) p189

     4. "People in households that earned $75,000 or more per year were three times more likely to produce and share Internet content than those whose annual household income was less than $30,000." (p188)

     5.  "How seriously we take these inequalities of access and opportunity depends very much on what we see as the value of participation." (p193)

 

Online Resource:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UN-PsIrOQZc

 

 

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