Example of Changing New Media Use

This is an excellent example of the way audiences are now consuming media differently. The actor is seen interacting with the Internet, mobile phone and MP3 player as he buys some concert tickets and organises to catch up with friends. By doing this, he would certainly be considered part of an online community. Comparatively, a couple of decades ago, the traditional way to purchase concert tickets and catch up with friends would have been vastly different.

The Impact of DIY Communities on Traditional Structures

DIY media encompasses the concept of produsage, which Bruns (2007, 3) describes as "the collaborative engagement of (ideally, large) communities of participants in a shared project". This is largely, and simply, based on the idea that 'two heads are better than one'. Produsage is built on the logic that, the community as a whole will be able to contribute a larger amount, and with more varied opinions, than that of a closed team of producers such as those in traditional structures (Bruns 2007, 3). Collaborative communities have no set agenda and could be considered self-organising communities, vastly different to commercial, hierarchical structured communities. Furthermore, participation isn't based on ownership, as is seen in most commercial communities, but rather is based on the merit and worth of the contributions that have been made by the user or participant.

There are various emerging forms of DIY media including:

• open source software development,
• online publishing, e.g. blogging, and open news (such as OhMyNews)
• media sharing, e.g. YouTube,
• knowledge management, e.g. Wikipedia, Del.ici.ous
• (Bruns 2007)
  

However, the rise of such DIY and collaborative communities can have a significant impact on the traditional methods of information-seeking and knowledge management. For example, open source software development undermines traditional software development (such as Windows) as it is a far more directly responsive to the needs and suggestions of users, and provides a far quicker response time. Traditional software development may often take up to a couple of years before user needs are met through the next edition of the software.

Another form of DIY media that is undermining the traditional forms is that of citizen journalism and DIY news. There still remains a few skeptical critics of citizen journalism, which I believe mainly arises from the question of whose opinion is reliable? How do we know who isn't just spinning a few yarns just for the sake of it? There are so many different opinions and views that are published on the Internet, that sometimes it becomes hard to sort through the clutter and find a trustworthy source. This is an idea touched on by Tom Merritt of CNET.com. But Merritt (2006) also suggests that this issue of trust also greatly surrounded the introduction of newspapers way back.

While this is one of the more guarded criticisms of citizen journalism, I believe citizen journalism also carries with it various advantages in comparison to traditional mainstream news coverage. Like many other DIY communities, I believe citizen journalism has been developed as a response to user needs. Mainstream news coverage has its shortcomings and has always remained such a biased, prejudiced and predisposed opinion on what the public needs to know. Perhaps the most obvious refute against this, is seen in the documentary "Outfoxed" which explores how Rupert Murdoch's Fox News has been "taking control of the public's right to know" (Outfoxed.org). I believe that citizen journalism puts everything out there because there is no set agenda or delegation of tasks; users are free to participate and add content at their own will which ultimately results in a broader selection of more alternative views. Nothing can really be covered up as the structure of online communities is naturally decentralised and self-organising.

Watch the Outfoxed trailer: (N.B. The whole documentary can be viewed in 9 segments via YouTube).



References:

Bruns, A. (2007). The Future is User-Led: The Path Towards Widespread Produsage. Retrieved April 22, 2008, from http://produsage.org/articles

Merritt, C. (2006). Citizen Journalism: Inside Information vs. Outside Perspective. Retrieved April 22, 2008, from http://www.cnet.com.au/software/internet/0,239029524,240061709,00.htm

Outfoxed. (n.d.). Outfoxed: Rupert Murdoch's War on Journalism. Retrieved April 22, 2008, from http://www.outfoxed.org/

Slashdot. (2006). Citizen Journalism Expert Jay Rosen Answers Your Questions. Retrieved April 22, 2008, from http://interviews.slashdot.org/interviews/06/10/03/1427254.shtml

Gregory, M. (2008). The End of Elite Liberal Media Empires and the Rise of Citizen Journalism. Retrieved April 30, 2008, from http://sadbastards.wordpress.com/

Online vs Offline Communities

Online and offline worlds often overlap, but are generally quite different to one another. They generate different cultures and the way they organise themselves seems to be quite different. Although they do overlap and may share similar qualities, there are characteristics of online communities that seem vastly different to characteristics of a "real world" geographical community.

Online communities foster a world that is independent of physical or geographical location or identity. A user can become a part of an online community, irrespective of their own personal or physical qualities. They are free from physical judgement, they are judged only on their contributions that they can choose themselves to publish or not. The rise of the networked environment and cultural diversity allows for the creation of many varied niche cultures and interests to develop through online communities. Online communities, therefore, allows for collaboration amongst other people of similar interests to yourself. They can collect and share information that may be of interest to other people in a similar interest group. The rise of the participatory culture (Jenkins 2006) means that users can be active participators in the online world, regardless of the time of day, or geographical location. Jenkins describes this participatory culture as one that is created by users who are connected through a multitude of local and hyperlocal cultural communities.

Shenton and McNeeley (cited in Flew 2005, 69) sum the above idea up perfectly by arguing that virtual communities have become so popular because of the following reasons:

• Online communities provide an easier opportunity to develop friendships with people, compared to the offline world.
• Online communities allows for the ability to interchange and play with personas and different identities.
• Online communities allows interaction with like-minded people.
• Online communities allow people to find others with shared interests, even obscure or odd interests that may be a niche or minority group.
• Online communities allow people who may feel discriminated against, or marginalised in society, to express their opinions and point of views.

Personally, I find online communities useful because you can contribute to them as often or as little as you like. When I don't have time or when I have something else to do that I believe is more important at the time, then I may not contribute as much. And this doesn't matter in an online community. However, if you're involved in an offline community you're expected to be committed to that community.

However, after having said all this, I believe there are still some challenges for online communities. The vast network of information can sometimes be overwhelming. We're constantly exposed to an abundance of information in the online world. With an increasing number of content creators contributing to the networked environment it sometimes becomes hard to decipher the reliable sources that are trustworthy and credible. Some information can become confusing and contradictory.

References:

Flew, T. (2005). New Media: An Introduction (2nd ed.). Victoria: Oxford University Press.

Jenkins, Henry. (2006). Introduction: “Worship at the Altar of Convergence" in Jenkins, Henry, Convergence culture: When new and old media collide, New York: New Yoork University, pp.1-24. Retrieved April 7, 2008, from Queensland University of Technology Course Materials Database https://qutvirtual.qut.edu.au/portal/pls/portal/olt_material_search_p?p_unit_code=KCB201