Posts Tagged: participatory culture

Earlier in the week, I posted framing questions regarding the growing trend of amateurization. I questioned some of the ways that amateurization will continue to challenge and expand our creativity, as a society. Jenkins’ theory of participatory culture was further demonstrated in the documentary we watched in class on Wednesday, dealing with the related issue of copyright infringement. Copyright issues have certainly become a highly debated topic within the entertainment industry. The documentary specifically emphasized the immediate effects within the music and movie sectors worldwide.

Returning to the idea of amateurization: copyright infringement issues come into play as soon as you start examining much of the user generated content that is easily found online. Take YouTube, for instance: a hefty portion of the video content includes video “mashups,” parodies of now-famous news clips (Bedroom Intruder song, anyone?), remixes of popular songs and even entire TV episodes that are posted without permission. In some ways, it can be argued that the thought, time and effort put into these instances of amateurization, fosters the creative energy of our society. At the same time, there is a sector that would argue against the spread of this content due to directly ripping off others’ work. As I saw this tension played out in the documentary, I began to question whether we can ever achieve some degree of a happy medium between allowing the creation of amateur content (in an effort to encourage creativity, free of restrictions) and limiting the sharing of content that isn’t completely original (to avoid copyright infringement.) It’s a topic that we will continue to debate in the years to come, and perhaps we will never reach a direct solution. But regardless on where you personally stand on the issue, this generation is inarguably the first that is witnessing the revolutionary trend of amateur-infused content, reflective of the larger theories of collaboration and participatory culture, which is ultimately fostered by the Web.

After reading the Jenkins reading, I began thinking about the implications of the empowerment of the media’s “amateur” content producers. The first question that came to mind was with the rise of decentralized circulation, and anonymous attributions of this content, how will this impact our ability to filter through the massive amounts of information we encounter? It’s easy to label information on a site like the New York Times or the Wall Street Journal as credible sources, but what about the anonymously submitted stories or videos? Do we write them off as “junk” since we don’t know their origin, or do we judge based on the legitimacy of the content?

Stemming off the idea of amateur content, in what ways will amateurization ultimately lead to a more creative pop culture? Published content is no longer limited to those with a professional background. It seems like those that previously experienced limitations to presenting content are now able to easily and economically produce and share this content with the masses.

Finally, with the emergence of the participatory culture, which uses technological developments to transcend the barriers of the industry’s commercial sector, will traditional corporations eventually become obsolete? Will the media eventually morph into a mass collection of content fueled by the low-cost grassroots model of this participatory culture? Jenkins’ essay places a great deal of emphasis on the strengths of the participatory culture, which could directly impact the media’s future business model.