This article was a great, in depth discussion on participatory culture. When you first hear “participatory culture,” it sounds fairly straight forward. However, when you do a deeper dive, as we did when reading this article, you see just how complicated and dynamic it can truly be. I know due to the nature of the class being so heavily emphasized on the connectivity in social media in the public sphere, and this article brought home how we can use this connectivity to learn effectively. Last semester, we were introduced to this idea in a broader sense by Dr. Zamora. This reading took those principles further than what we had done in our Writing Theory and Practice class. Just look at the testimonials of the people who have been involved in molding this idea of participatory learning and culture. One in particular, Mimi, put it best in my opinion. She mentions how it is important to link students with things that peak their interest and other like minded individuals to create these communities of learning. We have talked about this before, but I cannot stress enough how I find it to be so important that you have the room to explore your interests within your academic programming. Anytime you can blend something that you like and care about into your studies, it is inherently easier to make the skills and the process you are trying to learn much easier. For example, later in the reading, Danah mentions how it is not only the access to information, but which information filters out into the public eye. I love how she mentioned politics when talking about this. “Fake news” is something that is running rampant in our society. Look no further than the recent tragedy involving Kobe Bryant and nine other passengers on board a helicopter going to a youth basketball game for his daughter and his teammates. When this story was initially being reported on, there were 3-5 false reports as to who was on the plane. I tweeted out on my personal account how I felt it was incredibly irresponsible of those who reported the false narratives. I was able to be a participant online by tweeting that out, so while the initial reporting was egregious, it almost evens the field that anybody could comment and point out the lack of compassion that was shown by these people reporting on it.
The 5th chapter sheds light on the business aspect of all of this. That should not be overlooked in this equation of tech and connectability. Coming from a business background, I have a bit of familiarity with how these newer platforms have affected how business is conducted in 2020. Take any youtube video you want to watch for example. They will show you an ad almost every time you go on to watch last night’s Islanders highlights. Not only are they ads, but they’re smart. They can register things that you have been looking at previously and tailor the ad experience to your specific wants and interests. This is where things get more complicated. Privacy in this day in age is tricky due to these exact types of interactions. You find it all over the internet too, specifically on your social media accounts. It seems like a light invasion and most people do not pay much mind to it, including myself. It should not be lost, however, that there is this peek behind the curtain that these companies are getting, and it is born out of our own dependency on technology. I think the discussion on this in tonights class is going to be very interesting to see where the entire netnarr group stands on alot of these issues. I’m sure Linda will add some great convertsation points for us to discuss in class.