Web 2.0 & Social Media

In this clip, Patrick Schwerdtferger, a business consultant and keynote speaker, describes how recent web schemes (Web 2.0) differ from older versions. The ability of people to make connections and converse with one another has led to a rise in participatory culture. He then predicts the future of this phenomenon will be "bridging the gap between the online world and the offline world."

Source: What is Web 2.0? What is Social Media? What Comes Next? Perf. Dir. Patrick Schwertgerger. Youtube, 2013. Web.

Participatory Culture & The Internet

The rise of the internet has coincided with a rise in participatory culture. People now have the opportunity for distribution of their own creations and feedback at a level never possible before. Examples of digital avenues for participatory culture include:

• Blogs 
• Social Networks- Twitter, Facebook, etc.
• Video- Youtube
• Fan Fiction

All of these methods allow users to publish and distribute their own content to a wide audience of other users. If you produce a video on Youtube, for example, you may receive comments (a form of feedback) from consumers halfway across the globe. This wide net the web provides ensures that voices of consumers will be heard. 

What is Participatory Culture?

Henry Jenkins, a communications scholar, defines participatory culture as "... a culture with relatively low to artistic expression and civic engagement, strong support for creating and sharing creations, and some for informal mentorship whereby experienced participants pass along knowledge to novices. In a participatory culture, members believe their contributions matter and feel some degree of social connection with one another." While such cultures have always existed in one form or another, recent technological developments have rapidly increased their depth and breadth. 

Source: Jenkins, Henry, III. Confronting the Challenges of Participatory Culture: Media Education for the 21st Century. N.p.: MIT, 2009. Print.