Thursday, May 1, 2008

Power To The Audience




The relationship between media producers and audiences is undergoing a significant transformation. No longer is there a gap between media producers and consumers whereby tight control over the flow of information is in the hands of producers (Jenkins, 2002, 160). Instead, we are seeing the introduction of a new ‘participatory culture’ where the audience has greater power and autonomy over what, when and how they interact with media (Jenkins, 2002, 157-158).

These shifts in producer and audience roles have provided audiences with greater social and cultural power over the media that they consume. In relation to cultural power, there are two trends which have enabled new forms of cultural production. Firstly, the selection and quantity of new tools and technologies available have enabled consumers to engage and express their creativity with a lot more ease (Jenkins, 2002, 157). Secondly, a range of subcultures are promoting do-it-yourself media production which is shaping how consumers are using the available technologies (Jenkins, 2002, 157). For example, the game The Sims was designed to ‘involve its customers directly in the process of developing and evolving the product’ (Banks, 2002, 197). This has made it ‘one of the biggest selling PC titles of the past few years’ (Banks, 2002, 197).

In relation to social power, the World Wide Web has become a ‘powerful distribution channel’ giving all types of media content a degree of public visibility (Jenkins, 2002, 163). Consequently this has created additional life opportunities and economic advantages for those who would otherwise not have had access to any. This is particularly evident in the amateur film culture which has now been able to make an impact on the commercial mainstream (Jenkins, 2002, 163). For example, thanks to Amazon.com and YouTube an amateur Star War production titled, George Lucas In Love outsold Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace in its first week of circulation (Jenkins, 2002, 163).

Big brother and Idol are another two examples of new media forms that have facilitated the access to better life opportunities and economic advantages for those involved. These shows have been phenomenally popular amongst the general public as they follow the story of real people. Because of this, viewers find it much easier to relate to the contestants. Fans are also much more attached to the storyline as they are able to control it and at the same time, fuel part of a community. These shows have also created wider social power for those who have been previously excluded within society. For example, a number of the contestants on Idol have been of indigenous background or come from underprivileged families. This has resulted in greater cultural and social diversity within the media environment.

In conclusion, our new media environment has led to the rise of an interactive audience. This interactive audience has the ability to not only consume media but also produce, distribute, publicise and critique it. These new found abilities have been adopted readily and this has resulted in a lot more user-produced content. Consequently, audiences now have a much greater social and cultural power over the media that they consume. Despite these drastic technological developments and subsequent role shifts between producers and audiences, the new interactive audience still has not become autonomous and continues to operate alongside powerful media industries (Jenkins, 2002, 157). There is still a lot of power vested in media ownership and many producers strive to keep it this way, as to them, ‘fandom represents a potential loss of control over their intellectual property’ (Jenkins, 2002, 165). The coming years will be particularly interesting for all those participating in the new media environment, as the power struggle will continue. As the new media environment appears to be lending itself towards a more integrated community the crucial question still remaining is ‘how far will media companies be willing to go to remain in charge of their content or to surf the information flow?’ (Jenkins, 2002, 166).

Till next time,
Annelise

Reference List

Banks, J. 2002. Gamers as Co-creators: Enlisting the Virtual Audience – A Report From the Net Face. In Mobilising the Audience, eds. M. Balnaves, T. O’Regan and J. Sternberg, 188-212. St Lucia: University of Queensland Press.

Jenkins, H. 2002. Interactive Audiences. In The New Media Book, ed. D. Harries, 157-170. London: BFI Publishing

3 comments:

adaws said...

I found your blog entry on "Power to the Audience" very interesting as I have touched on this idea in one of my own blogs. Audiences are now more empowered than ever before with the blurring of the producer/user line and the widespread adoption of new media and the interactive capabilities that are now available. You make some really good "real world" examples of the shift in the relationship between audiences and producers or media companies. The opportunities for audiences to, as you say, "not only consume media but also produce, distribute, publicise and critique it" has certainly led to their new-found empowerment. I believe that user-led content and the new ways in which users are consuming media is a result of the short-comings that many people think are evident in traditional media. New media and content creation addresses and includes what is absent from traditional media. I think your conclusion is interesting where you touch on the future of media companies. I think they are faced with the challenge of integrating the positive aspects of new media, and if they can do this, they may regain a degree of power.

Labryan said...

You could not have summed it up better with your title "Power to the Audience". The emergence of Web 2.o indicates a power shift between media producers and audiences, enabling the audience greater control over the media that they consume (Cascio, 2006).

In my opinion, this is a marketing trend that has been employed by media producers to harness the colletive intelligence of the audience, using these mechanisms to effectively generate material in favour of the audience (Jenkins, 2002). Who better to determine what we wish to consume then us??

Audience empowerment has stemmed from the ability to control what they watch. You raise good examples such as Big Brother and Australian Idol. These were shows by which the audience was given the opportunity to control the outcome of the show. Here we see the public shaping social views (produsers). The power, once in the hands of major conglomerates has been given back to the consumers, empowering them to participate and essentially develop the marketing concepts for them. The promise of participation helps build consumer investments (Jenkins, 2006)

The new digital environment has indeed expanded the audience’s ability to produce their own media products in combination with media producers. I do agree with your points that it is due to the expanding digital environment that has enabled the interactive audience and believe that as technology continues to evolve and expand we will continually see a power struggle between producers and audiences - perhaps a blurring of the line between the two.

References

Cascio, J. 2006. The New World, the Rise of the New Culture of Participation. The Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies. November 15, 2006. http://ieet.org/index.php/IEET/more/cascio20061115/ (accessed 3 April, 2008)


Jenkins, H. (2006). Introduction: Worship at the altar of Convergence in Jenkins, Henry, Convergence Culture: When new and old media collide, New York: New York University, pp. 1-24

Jenkins, H. (2002) "Interactive Audiences?" in D. Harries (ed) The New Media Book, London:BFI Publishing, pp 157-170

Jenkins, H. (2006) :Buying into American Idol: How We Are Being Sold on Reality Television," Convergence Culture, New York: New York University Press, pp. 59-92

jo said...

I really enjoyed your post. People are truly starting to have power in media today. As the line between consumers and produsers diminishes, this gives room for more freedom and expression (Bruns, 2007). Rather than just being passive listeners, consumers are becoming active participants and content creators (Bruns, 2007). They are able to choose what media they watch and when they watch it.

“The selection and quantity of new tools and technologies available have enabled consumers to engage and express their creativity with a lot more ease”. I definitely agree with this statement. Before Web 2.0 consumers simply did not have the resources to produce and share their creations. However, with applications such as Youtube, Flickr, Jumpcut consumers can simply log into a site, use its software and share away.

“World Wide Web has become a ‘powerful distribution channel’”. This is absoultley true. As previously mentioned, consumers have the resources to create and distribute their own content. Brands can utilize sites such as blogs, forums and social networking sites to promote products. While, record companies can sell their products through online stores such as Itunes. Overall, anyone who has content to distribute has the opportunity in the World Wide Web due to its incredible freedom and flexibility.

I liked how you mentioned Big Brother and Idol as examples social power. I would like to add that these two programs are multi-platform events, which provide programming through multiple media (Roscoe, 2004). They resemble the changed patterns of media consumption in society today. Consumers not only become viewers of these programs but rather active participants. These types of programs work hard in creating relationships with their viewers and provide exclusive content for their fans. They give consumers power, by allowing them to vote for their favorites, download wallpapers/ringtones, watch behind the scenes episodes and read up on the latest news through official sites (Roscoe, 2004).

In conclusion the audience really does have the power in society today. They have become active participants in the new media environment influencing content.

References

Bruns, A. 2007. Produsage: Towards a Broader Framework for User-Led Content Creation." http://produsage.org/files/Produsage%20(Creativity%20and%20Cognition%202007).pdf) (accessed May 7, 2008).

Roscoe, J. 2004. 'Multi-Platform Event Television: Reconceptualizing our Relationship with Television'. The Communication Review, 7 (4): 363-369.