3.3 What is a 'participatory reading'?

Westlake refers to participatory readings as when:

"An internet reader contributes to the text in several ways, not only by connecting pages and text through links and Hypertext, but often by amending or editing content." (Westlake 2008 p. 26)

Therefore adding content to Wikipedia is a part of participatory reading, as is using hyperlinks to direct your reading. I also think participatory reading is when you collect hyperlinks and add comments ( in Facebook, or a blog for example) in order to keep a record of what you have read, or to gather information.

Westlake, E. J. 2008. Friend Me if You Facebook Generation Y and Performative Surveillance. Project Muse 52 (4): 21-40. https://auth.lis.curtin.edu.au/cgi-bin/auth-ng/walkin.cgi?url=http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/the_drama_review/v052/52.4.westlake.pdf (accessed 14/11/11).

3.2 - Notes on Networks or Information

In the ilecture this week Dr Tama Leaver discussed the evolution of blogs, stemming from the creation of blogging software (such as the one I’m using Blogger.com) that made publishing on the net accessible to the average web surfer. In terms of news, Leaver states that the amalgamation of media companies in the past means that the majority news corporations are owned by a small few, and as such the content they publish is viewed by the general public with a sense of skepticism (Leaver 2011). Therefore news blogs have become a popular part of today’s media landscape, as a way for people to seek differing points of view, or to read or add opinions about news items. As discussed in the readings for this week, Blogs too have issues with credibility.

Reading 1: Blogs of War by Melissa Wall gave an overview of the history of Journalism including those who create news-based weblogs. War believes that blogs offer society a new form of Journalism that is forms a symbiotic relationship with traditional media sources. As Wall states “news blogs typically don’t generate original content but rely on other sources for their links as inspiration for commentary”(Wall 2005 p. 156) meaning that blogs rarely uncover new news items but do critique, comment on, offer opinion and new information to news items  from existing sources such as a traditional newspapers. Wall states that while although bloggers are not journalists in the traditional meaning of the word, they do gain credibility by providing links to their sources of information, and through their more personalised, opinionated writing style.

Reading 2: The Mobile Phone and the Public Sphere by Janey Gordon looked at how mobile phones are used to report news and circulate information focusing on the relationship between citizen journalists and the gatekeepers of information. Gordon's research into the reporting of the SARs epidemic in China found that despite the general public having access to the technology to broadcast news to the world , the exchange of information can be controlled by governments via laws and firewalls the prevent information getting through. Her  research into the London bombings found that citizen journalism by victims and witnesses supported the traditional news institutions by operating as an source of information and images that they then used as a part of their coverage (Gordon 2007).

A ted talk on the creation of wikipedia by Jimmy Wales discussed the virtues of collective intelligence through his creation of a free encyclopedia of which content is added to entirely by volunteers. Wales has managed to harness the peoples desire to participate in the way history his told. His talk revealed that there are gatekeepers within wikipedia, volunteers who vote, administrators that hold more wight than voters and himself, the “monarch” who makes the rules. Although Wall states the information on wikipedia is a credible and reliable source he encourages people to test it for Quality assurance.

The task this week was to note the blogs I visit and what attracts me to them, I read a lot of trade blogs but no news blogs so decided instead to take a look at one news items across multiple platforms – blogs owned by newspapers, a weblog about news and wikipedia to see which one I found more credible. The news item I chose was the News of the World Phone Hacking Scandal which I found interesting as it questions the ethical collection of information by large media corporations in order to sell news as a commodity.

The Daily Telegraph:

Searches on this site brought denied access to articles with headlines that looked to have the potential to shine the Murdoch's in a poor light such as Murdoch accused of false blame shifting. The first news article I could actually access was entitled James Murdoch denies knowledge of hacking . While the author does acknowledge that the article was written for a paper that is owned by the same parent company involved in the scandal, to me it is not a credible news source. A news company embroiled in legal scandal over ethical reporting is not the one I turn to for the facts.

 

ABC NEWS:

This is a source I feel I can trust, mainly because it is government owned although I am now a questioning my judgment as isn't the role of journalists to report on the running of government? How does this work when it is owned by government? Anyway in regards to the phone hacking scandal, the ABC uploaded a short clip from a news bulletin called “A quick guide to thephone hackingscandal”. This clip reminds me of educational lectures from university which is perhaps why I trust it and proves Walls theory of credibility through the style in which information is presented. I feel as I have been educated after watching this, not as if I have had the wool pulled over my eyes.

 

LSE Blog:

Well I think Ive just found a blog to read that discusses news topics. LSE is the The London School of Economics and Political Science and I think proves that not all blogs are uneducated one sided drivel. The post entitled Phone-hacking and press reforms: British journalism needs anew sense of ethics but politicians should not be allowed to move the goalposts stands back from the sensationalist headlines and places the phone hacking scandal in the context of politics and law to reveal more sides to the story. I like the wider angle view point and the idea that the information presented is not done so as part of a mud slinging match between news corporation and news corporation. Hyperlinks is what gives this story credibility as I can access the writers (Charlie Beckett) biography, other blogs, books etc which brings as sense of trust due to his willingness to be accountable for the information presented, and not posting anonymously.

 

Wikipedia:

There is a lot of information in the wiki post called News International Phone Hacking Scandal, and to be honest too much to read. I tend to follow up on information presented on Wikipedia, it could be credible but as there is no one person accountable, I find it good to check the facts they present. For this news story alone it is a great resource to find articles about the phone hacking scandal (there are 288 references at this point in time) and it is great having links to all people involved, but in my mind is not credible information on its own.

 

Gordon, J. 2007. The Mobile Phone and the Public Sphere. Convergence: The International Journal of Research into New Media Technologies 13 (3): 307-319. http://cvg.sagepub.com (accessed 9/11/11).

Leaver, D. T. 2011. Networks of Information: Blogging, citizen Journalism & collective intelligence. Curtin University of Technology.

Wall, M. 2005. Blogs of war: Weblogs as news. Journalism 6 (2): 153 - 172. http://jou.sagepub.com.dbgw.lis.curtin.edu.au/content/6/2/153.full.pdf+html (accessed 8/11/11).

Topic 2.5 What is an alternate reality game? Have you played one?

I haven’t played and alternate reality game but Örnebring defines one as an “internet-based

mystery game in which participants are immersed in a fictional world and engage in collective problem-solving” (Örnebring 2007 p.445). The games are created by media companies (usually for marketing purposes) or by fans in order to further explore and interact with their favorite media text.

ARG’s link to particular media texts such as movies, songs, books or TV shows but this link is not always something that is made clear to participants. Örnebring demonstrated this with his example of the ARG created for the movie AI: Artificial Intelligence - called the Beast. This ARG created a buzz surrounding issues covered in the movie yet did not directly reference the movie, its storyline or its characters (Örnebring 2007 p.446). Other ARGs require participants to collect clues from the originating text and use the collective intelligence of the group in order to progress through the game.

Regardless of its form, the purpose if an ARG is to allow the consumer to actively participate in a fictional word that intertwines with reality – participants must suspend belief in order to interact with the game and the media text as if it were a real.

Örnebring, H. 2007. Alternate reality gaming and convergence culture. International Journal of Cultural Studies 10: 445 - 462. Sage Publications. http://ics.sagepub.com/content/10/4/445 (accessed 20/10/11).

2.3 Activity 2: How can digital media offer disempowered communities control over their own images and stories? Provide some examples if you can.

Srinivasan’s article touches on the possibilities new media can bring to disempowered communities when the technology is appropriated to meet their own “cultural, political and social visions” (Srinivasan 2006 p. 497). He demonstrates the role social media can play in preserving “cultural histories”  through the sharing of “native languages, songs and rituals” (Srinivasan 2006 p. 507) through social media environment. His example Tribal PEACE is described as a bottoms-up project where members of 19 geographically dispersed Native American Reservations control the content submitted to an online space specifically designed for the purpose of teaching and preserving cultural heritage. The content submitted is chosen by a committee made up of reservation members and access to it controlled through a password protected website (Tribal PEACE an Inter-tribal Educational Initiative).

This example shows how new media can empower communities to keep their cultural identity alive through a controlled purpose built learning environment that operates outside that of educational institutions. It does not however mean that these cultural stories and images are in some way protected from use by others. The cultural stories of the Native Americans can still be told through movies – and altered and changed to suit the largest possible audience in a cross-cultural mingling that Jenkins refers to as “corporate hybridity”(Jenkins 2006 p.167). It does not stop stereotypical representations by other forms of media; it does however provide a space where members of disempowered communities can share cultural information without restriction or influence.

 Jenkins, H. 2006. Pop Cosmopolitanism: Mapping Cultural Flows in an Age of Media Convergence, Fans bloggers and gamers: exploring participatory culture: New York University Press.

Srinivasan, R. 2006. Indigenous, ethnic and cultural articulations of new media. International Journal of Cultural Studies 9: 497. http://ics.sagepub.com/content/9/4/497 (accessed 15/10/11).

  Tribal PEACE an Inter-tribal Educational Initiative. http://www.tribalpeace.org/ (accessed 17/10/11).

2.3 Activity 1: Srinivasan, (2006, p. 498) argues that "community is no longer understood in geographical terms". Do you agree? What does community now look like? How is it defined?

The more I think about this quote the more I am starting to agree with it: "Community is no longer understood in geographical terms" (Srinivasan 2006 p. 498).

In today's world the scope for the word community is much wider than it once was. The term is still representative of  groups of people coming together to discuss common interests, it still represents a sense of belonging, a place where people can voice opinions, learn new things, support each other, help each other and contribute to the collective intelligence of the group. However, it is no longer a given that all this happens in a geographical location. Geography is no longer crucial to the formation of a community -  it can be for some, but not for all,  so it makes sense that it is not something we now blindly associate with the word.

Srinivasan, R. 2006. Indigenous, ethnic and cultural articulations of new media. International Journal of Cultural Studies 9: 497. http://ics.sagepub.com/content/9/4/497 (accessed 15/10/11).

 

1.2 Activity 4: What is participatory culture? What is convergent culture?

What is participatory culture?
As Jenkins describes – participatory culture is when the general public can participate in the telling of a story. Once a domain monopolized by corporations – new technology such as the internet and smart phones allow people outside corporations the ability to broadcast their stories and news. An example of this would be the Woman to drive Campaign where Saudi Arabian woman are turning to social networking sites such as YouTube and Facebook to fight for the right to drive in their country.

What is convergent culture?
Convergence Culture is where multiple media platforms are used to tell a story, report news, advertise a product etc. It is also when groups of people create media content through “collective intelligence” – pooling their information and resources to piece together a story. A good example of this would be Wikipedia pages where people contribute content.

Pereira, N. (2009, 13/9/11). Henry Jenkins on Transmedia [video]. Available from CinemaTech Retrieved from http://cinematech.blogspot.com/2009/05/great-video-w-henry-jenkins-on.html

Woman2Drive - Manal and Bertha - Woman2drive - 17 June Saudi Arabia. Retrieved from http://www.facebook.com/pages/Women2drive-Manal-and-Bertha-Woman2drive-17-June-Saudi-Arabia/176962935691371