Part 3- Participatory Culture & Online Communities

• What is community originally defined as, Provide an example.

  Groupings of ppl who are formed through close, primary, and social bonds. An example is the neighbourhood community bc its localized & geographically bound like community centres, churches, etc
• How did the media change community? (imagined community)

  Changed the idea of geographically oriented communities. It created an "imagined community" which media created a common national interest even if we can't see them, so the idea of community is challenged
• Who is Nancy Baym?

  She wrote the book called "Personal Connections in the Digital Age." In the book she asks what attributes do all communities share(digital/in person)
• what are shared attributes of a community either digital/in-person (*SSSI-ANIME*)

  1.Sense of Space, 2. Shared Practices(behaviour/activity that marks insider/outsider status), 3. Shared Resources and Support(series of ideas abt how members create social bonds with one another), 4. Shared Identities(individuals within the group share a particular part of their identity), 5. Interpersonal Relationships( the group feels connected to form relationships with one another)
• When did online communities start? Example.

  Date back to the 1980s and it required specialized access(so not everyone had computers). There was a group in the early communities called SF Lovers(science fiction lovers) & they used online message boards where anyone connected to network could discuss/reply to others
• In the mid-80s, what were the most common community boards?


  Daytime TV enthusiasts & medical patients seeking advice. This happened mostly in Silicon Valley( early online communities were geographically located)
• What's participatory Culture, who is ______, and what did he participate it through and what does it represent(SERD)

  participatory Culture is how we engage with the media to reach others. Henry Jenkins engaged with participatory culture through "fandom"(films, comics, gaming, etc.) Fandom represents equality, sociality, reciprocity & diversity)
• What do participatory cultures have? (5)

  they have 1. A strong support for creating/sharing one's creations, 2. Members feel their contributions matter, 3. Members have social connections with one another, 4. Informal mentorship as a means of passing knowledge to novices, 5. Low Barriers to artistic expression
• What's fan fiction? Example.

  Stories that use popular media characters but the narrative is rewritten(unofficially) by the fans for the fans. AN example is fan memes, or comic con
• What does Henry Jenkins Agrue?

  He says that ideas are not from the industry but from the participation of the fans. This inspires culture from the BOTTOM-UP by remixing/remaking of culture
• What's the social network?

  Web 1.0 to Web 2.0. An era of new political possibility, encourages participation
• What's ________ agrument about the participatory community?

  Christian Fuchs says that there is no link to the theory of participatory democracy. He says "participation means that humans have the right & reality to be part of decisions & to govern & control the structures that affect them." He says the users of social media are governed & maintained by private interests & they don't allow users to influences the creation of their platform.
• What's reductionism?


  A certain aspect of the world is explained by one dimension, as through other dimensions do not matter. Fuchs says Jenkins used this method to define participatory culture.
• Difference between network & community

  The NETWORK focuses on personal gain through recieving a specific thing from others. The COMMUNITY individuals participating in the greater collective.
• What's the difference between Interactivity & Participation?

  INTERACTIVITY is a feature of the technology itself. PARTICIPATION is smt we do. It requires thought, connection, sharing with others
• *Recap* Jenkins vs Fuchs Agrument?

  JENKINS argues that fan cultures offer models of and for participation in communities that can have implication for democracy more broadly. FUCHS reminds us of the political economy of the internet and questions the participatory nature of communities formed on social media
• The Participatory culture model is often opposed to the mass media and ??

  The broadcasting model typical of newspapers, radio, and tv where there is 1 sender and many recipients
• According to Australian scholoar _______, what term did he use to describe the combo of production and usage on social media? for what culture?

  Axel Bruns called it Produsage and a participatory culture is fostered by produsage on social media
• What does Axel Bruns envision as a result of social media's influence on culture and democracy


  A produsage-based participatory culture & s produsage based democratic model
• According to ______ ______ & _______ ________, what emerges as a result of social media in the economic sphere?

  Don Tapscott & Anthony Williams says a new economic democracy where everyone has a lead role
• What's the main characteristic of social media(web 2.0) according to ______ _________?

  Henry Jenkins says "if it doesn't spread, it's dead". Meaning that social media is spreadable media, where consumers play an active role in spreading content.
• Participatory borrows from participatory democracy, why? What's participatory economy?


  It's important to connect to this theory's dimensions of political engagement. Participatory economy requires a chnage in terms of access to capital in the direction of a more nearly equal access & change to equal access to the means of labour.
• What does Jenkins term of "participatory culture neglect"?

  Aspects of participatory democracy; it disregards questions about ownership of platforms, companies, profit, distribution of benefits
• What does Jenkins make the mistake of doing?

  Assuming there's a direct link of being a fan of popular culture & engaging in political protests. He sees politics mainly happening within popular culture like fans influence the plots of TV shows. He oversimplifies by suggesting that politics mainly occurs within popular culture, neglecting other factors influencing political activism and the broader political landscape.
• What's convergence?


  Both a top-down corporate driven process & bottom up consumer driven process
• What's the digital labour debate?

  Emerged in Critical Media & Communication studies with the rise of social media. It focuses on the analysis of unpaid user labour & other forms of labour (slave labour)
• How does Jenkins view the nature of work in web 2.0 platforms?

  Even if it feels like play to users, its exploitation, regardless of users feelings.
• What's Jenkins response to criticisms of his earlier work like convergence culture?


  Jenkins acknowledges the need for a more critical approach & knowledges that many people are still excluded from participating in the networked culture & corporate strategies seek to control & commodity participation. He acknowledges that many people are still excluded from participating in networked culture, and he recognizes that corporate strategies often seek to control and commodify participation.
• What approach does Jenkins take regarding equality issues in his work?

  He focuses on advising companies on effective communication for profitability rather than advocating for political change, addressing issues like fair wages. tax justice, etc.
• What shift in focus should be advocated for in the media & communications studies & which should it revisit?

  Return to political-economic concepts & the exploration of participatory democracy theory. It underscores the importance of re-engaging with ideas like class, and reintroducing Marxian ideas into cultural studies, emphasizing the importance if understanding the economy of life.