| Griscom, Amanda. "Trends of Anarchy and Hierarchy: Comparing the Cultural Repercussions of Print and Digital Media." Cyberspace, Hypertext and Critical Theory. 2005. Cyberspace and Critical Theory. Accessed May 2009. http://www.cyberartsweb.org/cpace/infotech/asg/contents.html* |
In the section entitled "No Medium Becomes Extinct," Griscom looks a couple of examples from history which show that even though new media may become the prevalent form in society, the previous form does not go away. Such as with the transition from "oral" to "written" forms of information-sharing, while the newer form "oppresses" the old, the old is still present to represent a perspective that cannot be replaced by the newer method. Another notable area of reading is within the preface, where the section beginning with "Kuhn's Paradigm Shift" discusses the possibility of the internet (and Digital Revolution) being a major shift in communications techonology; the site is intended for the author to "examine the Internet as a mighty scientific innovation capable of effecting drastic change." |
| Howe, Jeff. "The Rise of Crowdsourcing." Wired Magazine. 14.06. Accessed May 2009. http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/14.06/crowds.html* |
When platforms such as iStockPhoto and Shutterstock hit the internet, professionals found themselves losing money and business to amateurs using those platforms to make their work available to the public. Companies are beginning to take advantage of the millions of networked users that have access to the web to do the work of what used to be paid professionals. Some of the consequences of this "outsourcing" to the masses has not only taken work away from professionals, but it can cut down on the quality of the work. While there is a lot of this amateur work available, most of it is indeed amateur. |
Jenkins, Henry et al. "Confronting the Challenges of Participatory Culture: Media Education for the 21st Century." Comparative Media Studies Department, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. pp.1-11. http://digitallearning.macfound.org/atf/cf/%7B7E45C7E0-A3E0-4B89-AC9C-E807E1B0AE4E%7D/JENKINS_WHITE_PAPER.PDF* |
Jenkins' paper begins with a section entitled “The Needed Skills in the New Media Culture,” which provides some examples of amateur work that has been wildly successful. He points out that the skills they’ve learned that led them to their success were learned through participatory culture. The reason that participatory culture allows individuals to contribute to the networked society in the manner they do is because that network supports the work these individuals do. “Affinity spaces,” the forum through which these people may make their work public, gives them the tools available to professionals while getting feedback from millions of critics. |
| Jenkins, Henry. Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide. New York: New York University Press, 2006. |
In chapter 4, Jenkins discusses how the “Web provides a powerful new distribution channel for amateur cultural production” (136). The participatory culture allows the everyday consumer/user to use the technology available to produce their own work which they can make available to the public. Professionals have the option to react in several different ways, including: by controlling the work the amateurs are producing; by working with the amateurs to help them be more successful; or by drawing a line between what is considered “official” work related to certain materials (i.e. Star Wars parodies) and guidelines by which it will be considered. Chapter 5 looks at the way that culture is responding to participatory culture; the banning of books, controlling what’s being written and the effects of this control on education (both for children and adults). |
| Lessig, Lawrence. "Creators." Free Culture. 2004. Accessed May 2009. http://libreria.sourceforge.net/library/Free_Culture/CHAPTER01.html |
Borrowing has been a major part of entertainment culture since the beginning of storytelling. Lessig's primary example in this chapter is Disney, and the borrowing from the Brothers Grimm for a number of his popular films; he calls this "Disney creativity". He continues his discussion with the topic of copycats; those who take something that inspires them and uses that to produce their own work. While many in the United States would argue that this is stealing and illegal, another perspective is that of Japanese comic artists, whose work is often copied. The difference, Lessig notes, is that while they may be building on another's work that ultimately makes the original source more popular. |
| Lessig, Lawrence. "Pirates." Free Culture. 2004. Accessed May 2009. http://libreria.sourceforge.net/library/Free_Culture/CHAPTER04.html |
All of the media outlets have been a victim and a propagator of piracy. Though we wouldn't necessarily recognize it, piracy is a major part of both the entertainment and the information industries, and both professionals and amateurs commit it. Lessig explains how each of the areas of the media has committed piracy, and who is being victimized. |
O'Reilly, Tim. "The Architecture of Participation." O'Reilly Media. June 2004. Accessed May 2009. http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/a/oreilly/tim/articles/architecture_of_participation.htm/* |
“The architecture of participation” is the term O’Reilly uses to describe the way that organizations and companies are designing their platforms and forums to control the way that users may contribute. Many are concerned with overseeing what is being written and less focused on the potential that is housed in the Web. |
| Shirky, Clay. Here Comes Everybody. New York: The Penguin Press, 2008. |
In the first few chapters, Shirky looks at some of the ways that the internet and networked communities have enabled mass participation in a way that was not previously available. Through websites, blogs, and online conversation and the use of platforms enabling users to easily upload things to public spaces, communication and connections with millions are simpler than ever. The sort of tasks that used to take professionals hours, days, weeks or even years, one or two or a thousand people can do far more quickly and with a lot less work. |
| Shirky, Clay. "Weblogs and the Mass Amateurization of Publishing." Clay Shirky's Writings About the Internet. 3 Oct. 2002. Accessed May 2009. http://shirky.com/writings/weblogs_publishing.html* |
Shirky notes that though the Web has enabled many to produce higher quality work, it does not mean everyone has become a professional – fill-in-the-blank. “The principal effect of weblogs is instead mass amateurization”- and not everyone is going to be successful at it. He continues on, discussing how while people make their work public with ease, real publishing (the old-fashioned way) takes effort and still holds the value that used to be associated with “being published”. Weblogs have freedom and are free, and printed work has filters and editors and critics and a price tag. Amateurs will probably stay that way, continuing to use public forums because they enjoy what they do and not because they’ll become professional because of it. |