1.1 Notes: Critical information studies for participartory culture (part 2) (Jenkins 2009)

Henry Jenkins blog post discusses digital media and the everyday persons involvement with the creation of content (e.g. news or entertainment etc). His post stems from discussions from the University of Virginia conference regarding issues surrounding digital media that are seen to block a "more participatory society" (Jenkins 2009).

Main main points I have taken from this article are:

•  Fear - the internet like anywhere else has its dangers but these dangers are often amplified through the media and create a sense of fear which can prevent some people from participating in online society. Jenkins states that people need to be educated in the dangers of online communication and  need to be made aware of their "ethical responsibilities" (Jenkins 2009) when participating in digital media. Some wise words when you think about this in the context of cyber-bullying as education could only be helpful for not only children (being told what it is,  why not to do it, and who to tell if its happening to you) but would also be a great help to parents.
  
• The Digital Divide - This was always a term I associated with a lack of access to computers or a lack in computer literacy but as Jenkins points out it also about people feeling entitled to participate in online society. For example I know many young people who ban their computer literate parents from joining social media sites such as Facebook as they do not want to mix the family and social spheres of life together. This for me brings up further issues regarding identity, relationships and  and ideas about privacy which are all skewed slightly in the online environment. Do we all need to present out whole selves to everyone we have ever met just because we are friends in the online environment? Or should we be allowed to present the parts of us that are most relevant to the social situation we are in as we do in real life? (such as a professional demeanor for work colleagues, and more relaxed demeanour around friends)
  
• Reasserting Fair Use - corporations are having a "crisis of copyright" while citizen groups are having a "crisis of fair use" (Jenkins 2009). What this boils down to is that while we may have access to content and the ability to manipulate it, change it and reuse it we do not necessarily have permission from the copyright owners to do so which ultimately ends in litigation. I agree with Jenkins when he states “struggles over intellectual property may be the most important legal battleground determining the future of participatory culture” (Jenkins 2009) as this will determine if ones creativity is a criminal offence should they choose to reference the media influences of their lifetime.

Many other points were covered here too such as the role of collective intelligence in our education system, allowing social media in schools, the role of citizen journalism and its effect on traditional news media industries, segregation of social groups in the online environment, the construct of a global society and online governance and activism. The three points fear, the digital divide and fair use have been the ones I have been most drawn to.

 Jenkins, H. 2009. Critical Information Studies For a Participatory Culture (Part Two). http://www.henryjenkins.org/2009/04/what_went_wrong_with_web_20_cr_1.html (accessed 5/9/11).