Assignment 2 - Youth are the innovation engine

Article: Students as Smart Mobs

     Today’s youth work to create opportunity, solutions and partnerships through the digital tools that are so ubiquitous in their lives. Whether through their schools, communities they live in or communities that they travel to, Martinez outlines the many ways in which youth are active rather than passive participants in the issues that they are exposed to. Political campaigns, high school networks, climate solutions road tours are some of the ways in which youth are using “new tools to harness collective knowledge and action” (Martinez, 2009).

     Perhaps this is no great feat because the human ability to collaborate has been an innate part of our history since the beginning of time. The difference now, that Martinez mentions is that the tools and technologies of today - email, smart phones, social networking sites, allow for opportunities of mass collaboration which have never before been available. One example of this is the Indian Youth Climate Network. Through the use of YouTube, their climate solutions road tour findings were shared with users throughout the world, who then have an opportunity to learn, share and do more.

     Without the use of technology the sharing of this information could perhaps be onerous or impossible. Now these initiatives serve as examples of what Howard Rhiengold (2002) defines as smart mobs, people conducting intelligent and efficient behavior through increasing network links. Martinez lists many initiatives that allow for today’s youth to participate in these smart mobs.

     It also speaks to the larger participatory culture that is a defining characteristic of today’s youth. Jenkins defines participatory culture as having the following characteristics:

1. With relatively low barriers to artistic expression and civic engagement
2. With strong support for creating and sharing one’s creations with others
3. With some type of information mentorship whereby what is known by the most experienced is passed along to novices
4. Where members believe that their contributions matter
5. Where members feel some degree of social connection with one another (at the least they care what other people think about what they have created.

     As this participatory culture and the existence of smart mobs continue to be the way of learning, working and socializing it must be taken with a grain of salt. Perhaps this is because as we all become collaborators and creators, the level of information and the source of information is no longer comprised of the traditional sources of validation that are so much a part of our learning, at least how we once knew it. One key example of this is that a sorority funds Martinez’s article. Perhaps in traditional academics this would be a cause for concern, however if we see what Rhiengold and Jenkins use to characterize today’s innovative youth, they simply are vital members of our participatory culture.

Sources

Martinez, M. (2009). INNOVATION: Students as Smart Mobs, Phi

     Delta Kappan, 91(01), 74-75. Retrieved from http://www.futureofed.org/resource/library/0909%20Martinez%20September%20Column%20PDK.pdf

The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. Confronting the Challenges of Participatory Culture: Media   
     Education for the 21st Century [White paper]. Retrieved from

http://digitallearning.macfound.org/site/c.enJLKQNlFiG/b.2108773/apps/nl/content2.asp?content_id={CD9 11571-0240-4714-A93B-1D0C07C7B6C1}&notoc=1

Additional sources of interest:

Friedman, T. (2009, February 14). Yes, They Could. So They Did. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/15/opinion/15friedman.html

http://www.indiaclimatesolutions.com/

http://www.youtube.com/user/WeAreSolutions

Assignment 2 - Consumers are producers

Article: The ‘in’ crowd

The fashion world for all intents and purposes has been a forum in which the numbered few decide on the trends and the masses respond by purchasing them. The line between designer and buyer could be characterized as black and white in an industry full of colour. Now however, many brands are relying on those that wear their clothes, to also design their clothes. As Lucie Green mentions in her article “never before has the consumer had so much control over what, how, and when products are available” (Green, 2011).

Discount brands, department stores, independent fashion lines as well as power house fashion icons all have turned to the web to reach out to their consumers, gaining input for possible designs, allowing for the purchasing of personalized and custom products and managing the quantity of products they produce. Burberry, The Bay, and Threadless are a varied example of brands that rely on this method.

Through the use of crowdsourcing, these brands make them active participants in the process. Consumers have a sense of entrepreneurial spirit that they feel they are able to manifest through the sense of 'control' that the companies provide them. By being active in a large design community the people involved are able to develop and grow three types of capital: financial capital, artistic capital, and social capital (Thompson, 1999, p.212). The company selling the product make money, creates a larger portfolio of products, hence expanding their artistic capital, and reaching more consumers who essentially become followers, leading to a larger social capital. Consumers also gain the three types of capital because through their input they have larger control over where and how much money they spend, they feel a sense of creativity through the process of customizing products by choosing colors, personalizing etc, and they build social capital by feeling like they have an active voice that the designer is listening to. Their social capital also grows through the online world that allows them to communicate with other consumers, discussing what they like and dislike about a particular consumer product.

Sources

Brabham, D. (2008). Crowdsourcing as a model for problem solving. Convergence: The International Journal of Research into New Media Technologies. 14(1), 75-90.

Greene, L. (2011, February 11). The 'in' crowd. The Financial Times. Retrieved from http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/85206386-3563-11e0-aa6c-00144feabdc0.html#axzz1FfAOK3v3

Thompson, J. L. (1999). The world of the entrepreneur: a new perspective. Journal of Workspace and Learning. 11(6), 209-224.

Assignment 2: Smart Mobs: The power of the mobile many

Assignment 2: Power of Mobile Many

Title: SMART MOBS: The Next Social Revolution

Author Surname: Rheingold   

Author First Name: Howard   

Publication Date: 2002   

Chapter Title: Smart Mobs: Power of the Mobile Many (chapter 7).   

Publisher: Perseus Publishing   

Page Numbers: pp 157 - 182   

Tags & Keywords: smartmob; network; p2p   

Summary:

Smart Mobs: The power of the mobile many

Rheingold (2002) in his book titled Smart Mobs discusses the empowerment of masses through communication and technology. The people equipped with smart phones are able to achieve far greater things than their predecessors. The question of power is obvious in title.

                        Chapter seven in the book titled, “The power of mobile many” stands out so well as evidence new structures of power in our day and age. With the crisis in Middle East and Africa, there was no time in our history when the role of technology was so influential in empowering the people. How the cell phone users with smart mobile phones could bypass a generation of technological evolution, what we call leapfrog, and enter into this area of empowerment. Rheingold, in this chapter brings about where all this began. Estrada, the former Philippine president was the first in history to be dethroned by the smart mob. The coordinated effort by the mob through e-mails and text messages brought tens of thousands onto the streets of Manila forcing the government to act.

            The author explains further how the smart mobs function to organise themselves in different areas of human life – protest squads in Seattle; instantaneous protests against gasoline etc. (Rheingold, 2002, p.158). All these protests show how easy it was for the people to create a network of like minded people and share information. Here people function as hubs and nodes. (Rheingold, 2002, p.163).

            Besides these violent demonstrations the power of technologies allowed people to create networks of relationships. The story of Imahima (Rheingold, 2002, p, 165) from Japan and Upoc (universal point of contact) from New York, point to the fact of peer to peer collaboration in building up ideas and relationships. These participatory endeavours lead to forming groups and communities.

            The ability to send videos in real time to web sites; which we may not consider a big deal today, might be a huge step almost ten years ago when this book was written (Rheingold, 2002, p. 169). The powerful technological tools enabled individuals to be powerful nodes in the network of creation. As the chapter points out the idea of power is seen with a new meaning.

            Scott Lash (2007) in an article titled, Power after Hegemony: Cultural Studies in Mutation? describes very well the meaning of power in different cultural and technological contexts. “Lash suggests that in place of ‘discourse’ and ‘cognitive judgment’, power ‘has become more sinister in a post-hegemonic age … it penetrates your very being’ (Rheingold, 2002, p.59). Lash describes this as the ‘vitalization of power’ (Rheingold, 2002, p.69) where power is a part of our ‘being’; it lives with us and reacts to us. This is where ‘power, previously extensive and operating from without, becomes intensive and now works from within’. This movement of power to the inside has a knock-on effect on ‘organization’, which is usurped by forms of ‘self-organization’” (as cited in Beer, 2009, p.993). Lash (2007) “does not claim that these new forms of power erase the power structures of the past, but instead that a ‘society of ubiquitous media means a society in which power is increasingly in the algorithm’ ( as cited in Beer, p.71).

            The tasks achieved by ant hives as a group are tremendous. Colonies of ants working together can achieve greater strength than an individual ant. The imagery used by Rheingold summarises the collaborative power of mobile many. The collaborative potential of the new technology allow us to create and share a “social intelligence”.

References

Rheingold, H. (2002). Smart Mobs: The Next Social Revolution; Cambridge: Perseus Press.

Lash, S. (2007). Power after Hegemony Cultural Studies in Mutation?; Theory, Culture &             Society, 24(3), 55–78.

Beer, D (2009). Power through the algorithm? Participatory web cultures and the technological unconscious. New Media & Society 11(6), 985–1002.

Hermida, A., & Thurman, N.  (2008). A Clash of Cultures: The integration of user-generated content within professional journalistic frameworks at British newspaper websites; Journalism Practice, 2(3), 343-356.

Assignment 2: The digital emperor has no clothes

The Digital Emperor Has No Clothes by Andrew Keen

This article first appeared in Associations Now magazine, and the intended audience is association executives. The essential issue being addressed is neatly summarized by headline: “Welcome to the dark side of Web 2.0, where focused expertise is replaced by rampant amateurism; opinion is mistaken for knowledge; and credentials, degrees and years of experience mean virtually nothing.” (Keen 1).

Keen’s states his position quite strongly: “genuinely valuable journalism and writing [are] lost in all the self-authored junk on the internet.” (Keen 1). He takes the position that the democratization and flattening of information hierarchies has resulted in so much unreliable information that it is becoming extremely difficult to locate credible sources. He also seems to be suggesting that information consumers are exposed to so much poor quality knowledge that they are unable to distinguish the good “stuff” from the bad. This is in stark contrast to Dianne Lynch’s position that the new generation values truth and accuracy. This leads to an unresolved question that neither Lynch nor Keen deal with directly: is there a generational difference in how certain groups evaluate Web 2.0 information?

Interestingly, despite his position as a new media skeptic, Keen’s advice to the leadership of knowledge-based associations is that they embrace Web 2.0 and use it to their advantage. He cites several examples of traditional newspapers that achieved success with their online versions. He suggests that this is evidence that readers still value “credible expertise over flatulent opinion” (Keen 2). He goes on to suggest that the variety of self-publishing options offered by Web 2.0 technologies give associations a way to assert their credibility and possibly drown out the “noisily opinionated amateurs” (Keen 2).

Keen also briefly addresses the issue of intellectual property rights. He suggests that access to certain websites can be restricted if the association does not want “unskilled wandering” by “any digital Tom, Dick or Harry” (Keen 2). This type of restriction seems to counter his idea of using technology to spread expertise, and Keen doesn’t resolve this contradiction.

Overall, despite his use of colourful language, Keen does make some valid points about the problems with assessing the credibility of information in the world of Web 2.0. His suggestion that associations utilize the technology to their advantage makes sense, but I’m not sure he’s fully thought through the implications of doing this. If an organization wants to assert their authority and expertise, yet still limit access to the information, there may be a general loss of credibility in public’s eyes. Associations may need to filter or monitor the discussions in their digital worlds, but too much suppression of opinion will simply cause readers to flee to other sites. With proper balance, however, traditional sources of creative and informational authority should be able to assert their expertise in a way that is accepted by “the mob”.

Keen, A. “The digital emperor has no clothes”. Associations Now, November 2007.

Assignment 2: The Smart Mob "Makeover"

The Smart Mob “Makeover” by Terence K. Huwe

This article is targeted at librarians and deals specifically with the question of how to integrate and utilize digital libraries. Although the examples provided relate specifically to the author’s experience as the Director of Library and Information Resources at U of C – Berkeley, many of the conclusions regarding empowering smart mobs have broader application.

Huwe’s central example of a smart mob involves Sponsored Bloggers who were invited to comment on a strategic planning initiative at U of C – Berkeley. In this example, the bloggers provided comments on the process as it unfolded, and also commented on various guest speakers who were brought in. Although Huwe considered the blog a success, he notes that “a fair number of staff did not post at all” or asked to remain anonymous. (Huwe, 26). This seems to indicate that some his staff may have still viewed this process as top-down, rather than collaborative, and may not have completely embraced the concept of the smart mob. Huwe’s evaluation may be somewhat biased, as he was directly involved as one of the sponsored bloggers.

Huwe’s experience led him to two conclusions: 1) when introducing new technologies, top-down management styles won’t work, and 2) people will begin using technologies when they become necessary to complete the tasks of their jobs. In order to embrace the idea of collaborative implementation, Huwe makes three recommendations:

1) Empower the smart mobs – here he suggests that implementation group consist of a broad range of users from across the organization with different levels of authority. He then suggests that these people be given “wiggle room” to come up with creative solutions to problems, and that the solutions be implemented without interference from upper management.

2) Take positive steps to ensure open and full dialogue – Huwe suggests here that initially, people who are willing to share information freely must be found, and that no editing or censorship be applied to their posts. This will then encourage others to contribute as well.

3) Establish trust to increase involvement – here the suggestion is that users’ trust of new technologies will take time to establish, but techniques such as frequent polling and surveys, with appropriate follow-up of suggestions, will help build this trust.

Huwe’s interpretation of a smart mob seems limited by existing management structures. Although he speaks about using technology to gain feedback from users and employees, it is not clear that this really occurred in the specific example he provides. The Sponsored Blog group in his example did accomplish its goals, but was there a broader engagement with line-level staff outside of this group? Did the new strategic plan really change the way library staff does their jobs? Huwe seems more focused on implementation rather than the end result. His ideas make sense, but more research would be needed to properly support his conclusions.

Huwe, T. “The Smart Mob Makeover.” Computers in Libraries, v28, no 8. (September, 2008). Pg. 24, 26-27.

Assignment 2: Incubating innovation at journalism schools

“Incubating innovation at journalism schools: with the online generation entering college, some key ingredients for new ways of practicing journalism are arriving with them.” by Dianne Lynch

Dianne Lynch is a journalism professor and this article is written from the perspective of an educator. The essential question dealt with is how should journalism schools adapt their curriculum to deal with this new generation of journalism students who “evolved in a virtual universe” (Lynch, 1). In analyzing this question, Lynch identifies four key characteristics of this new generation of journalists:

1. They are information junkies.
2. They are multitaskers.
3. They are bricoleurs (i.e. they adapt easily to new technology and find their own ways to use it)
4. They are masters of collaborative engagement, and understand how to tailor a message to a particular audience.

Lynch challenges the idea that this generation cannot distinguish credible from non-credible information, and states that they, in fact, “value truth and accuracy.” (Lynch 2). She is also critical of the current state of the journalism and journalism education professions, stating that they are not adapting well to the concept of “new media”.

Her suggestion to journalism schools is that they adapt new strategies that take advantage of the characteristics identified above. She suggests that students be given open-ended, unstructured, collaborative tasks to stimulate innovation. She gave her students a project with a brief instruction: “Create something new in the online travel market.” (Lynch 3). She claims that this project was very successful, but she provides no details about what was produced.

Her final conclusion is that journalism schools need to “nurture collaborative innovation [to produce] accurate, informative and interactive content – for every screen and every audience” (Lynch 3). She suggests that to do this, journalism schools will need to un-bundle themselves from the journalism industry and instead focus on the concept of collaborative knowledge production rather than authoritative content delivery.

Lynch’s arguments are fairly persuasive and she has accurately identified the characteristics of the new generation of journalists. However, she makes a number of statements that are unsupported. (i.e. that the new generation values truth, and that the travel project was successful.) More details are needed here to properly support her point. Without further details, I wasn’t all that convinced that her students “hit it out of the park” (Lynch 3) with the travel project, particularly since Lynch would have an obvious bias in promoting her own project.

Lynch, D. “Incubating innovation at journalism schools: with the online generation entering college, some key ingredients for new ways of practicing journalism are arriving with them.” Nieman Reports 61.3 (2007).

Assignment 2: Hospital verses Social Media

Title: Hospital confronts social media uprising over care of dying baby.

Author Surname: Weeks

Author First Name: Carly

Publication Date: March 12011

Publisher: Globe and Mail.

Tags & Keywords: Social collective action;
Retrieved from: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/ontario/hospital-confronts-social-media-uprising-over-care-of-dying-baby/article1925978/

London Health Sciences Centre has been forced to break their privacy regulations due to the social media. The hospital claims that misinformation about the situation has been circulated through various social networking sites. This has resulted in the hospital having to launch a public campaign in order to “correct the enormous amount of false and misleading information about [the baby’s] condition and ongoing treatment.” This case demonstrates how collective action can cause concerns for organizations.

[Technology is lowering boundaries for collective action which is not always a good thing. Students should be educated on "attention, participation, collaboration, crap detection, and network literacies" prior to going on the internet to find information. The most damaging thing about "cutting your student/children loose on the internet without any education is they will not be able to distinguish bull*#*! from accurate information"(Rehingold).]

I agree with Rehingold that collective action is not always a good thing. People should be diligent in researching the information especially if a person or organization's reputation is at stake. If information is not validated then leave it alone until confirmed. If people validated the claims, maybe this particular situation would of not escalated to this point. The hospital is forced to support their decisions to the general public which is breaking the patient-privacy rule. They have no choice as according to the media, the hospital is receiving threats based on misleading information from social media sites (Globe and Mail, Metro, and Windsor Star).

This is a sensitive case and supporters, family and friends of the baby are thinking emotionally and not understanding that the hospital has to operate within their regulations. Weeks did an excellent job in conveying the hospitals side of the story without being insensitive to the baby's family.

This case demonstrates the need for organizations to create a social media strategy and/or policy. The policy should include contingency's to address negative social media attention.

Supporting Links:
Posadzki, A. ( 2011, February 27). Parents of Baby Joseph launching appeal. Metro RSS. The Canadian Press. Retrieved from: http://www.metronews.ca/toronto/canada/article/786604--parents-of-baby-joseph-launching-appeal

Pozic, S. (February 17, 2011). Ont. couple's appeal to bring baby home dismissed. Winsor Star. Retrieved from: http://www.windsorstar.com/health/couple+appeal+bring+baby+home+dismissed/4304482/story.html#ixzz1FfzvYJ7Ohttp://www.vancouversun.com/health/couple+appeal+bring+baby+home+dismissed/4304482/story.html

Rehingold, H. (2009) Howard Rehingold, Author, Smart Mobs. YouTube. Retrieved from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W3sfD6H7GfI

Wikipedia. Collective Action. Retrieved from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collective_action

Assignment #2: Hawaii Tsunami Scare

Title: Hawaii Tsunami Scare Reveals the Power of Social Media

Author Surname: Russo

Author First Name: Tommy

Publication Date: March 03, 2010

Publisher: Maui Times

Tags & Keywords: collective action

Retrieved from: http://www.mauitime.com/Articles-i-2010-03-04-72663.113117_Hawaii_Tsunami_Scare_Reveals_the_Power_of_Social_Media.html

Russco's, MauiTime co-owner, recaps events from the notification that Hawaii was going to be hit with a destructive tsunami to when Hawaii was out of the danger zone. Russo and other staff talked to residents, monitored the internet and captured and streamed video clips using an iPhone. MauiTime website crashed so the staff relied on the collaboration of information through Facebook, Twitter and MauiTime blog.

A Hawaiian resident, blogged on how she was able to prevent panic with her family and friends who live across the world. She relied on Twitter, as per tweets below, and other social media sites to message her family that she was safe (Darling).

What happens if a natural diaster did occur? In the case of the recent New Zealand earthquake, people did die and families did get seperated. Social media was important in getting messages to families and friends across the world. "Twitter has been a key tool in disseminating news to the world, as well as being a way for people (New Zealanders in particular) to reach out and express their feelings" (MacManus).

Rehingold states that collective action is not always a good thing. Russco wrote that "some people dismiss social media sites as mostly frivolous and narcissistic. But that's missing the point. These sites are just tools—what matters is what we do with them". In a previous article I analysed when social media is misused. In the case of natual diasters collective action using social media prevented world wide panic. The information provided in the near miss diaster and the actual diaster could be used to analyze the situation. For example if governments utilize the information people provide during a time of crisis and take the necessary steps to aggregate, organize and archive the information, research could be done to evaluate the scenario and prepare for future similar situations.

Supporting Links:
Darling, R. (2010, February 27). Hawaii Tsunami Proves Social Media Power Again: Information is a Tonic. Retrieved from: http://www.barefeetstudios.com/2010/02/27/hawaii-tsunami-proves-social-media-power-again-information-is-a-tonic/

MacManus, R. (2011, February 27).#EQNZ: Social Media Response to the Christchurch Earthquake. Retrieved from: http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/eqnz_social_media_response_to_the_christchurch_ear.php

Rehingold H. (2009) Howard Rehingold, Author, Smart Mobs. YouTube. Retrieved from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W3sfD6H7GfI

Assignment #2: How Participatory Culture Affected Obama Campaign.

Title: How Obama used social networking tools to win.
Publication Date: July 10, 2009
Publisher: Insead Knowledge
Tags & Keywords: participatory culture; social media
Retrieved from: http://knowledge.insead.edu/contents/HowObamausedsocialnetworkingtowin090709.cfm

Obama's Presidential campaign illustrates how Scott Goodstein (campaign's External Online Director) created an effective participatory culture by allowing people to "engage and validate". Jenkins defines participatory culture as one:
1.With relatively low barriers to artistic expression and civic engagement.
2.With strong support for creating and sharing one’s creations with others.
3.With some type of informal mentorship whereby what is known by the most experienced is passed along to novices.
4.Where members believe that their contributions matter.
5.Where members feel some degree of social connection with one another (at the least they care what other people think about what they have created).

Some examples of how the above principles were implemented are:
1. Harfoush, New Media Specialist, allowed the blog to be self-moderated which created an open dialogue (Felesky).
2. There were no barriers for artist creations. The artist creations were uploaded to the Obama website in order to share and so people could comment.
3. Campaign was interactive and took advantage of new technology. The iPhone was not in existence at the start of the campaign but throughout the campaign became increasingly popular. Goodstein decided to create an iPhone application that could provide supporters access to the campaign’s news and videos. The application also served as a mapping device to show the location of local campaign offices to new volunteers, which resulted in people showing up at the offices with iPhones in their hands.

The article supports how Obama won using social media tools. Personally, I agree with Cass, Public Relations Specialist who states, "the use of social media tactics gave the opportunity for Obama to compete but it was his public relations strategy that got him to the White House." Cass does not back this statement up with facts but as Goodstein acknowledges the "election's success would of not happened without the right message or the right messenger".

Supporting Links:
Cass, J. (2008, November 09). A PR Strategy Not Social Media Tactics Won The Presidential Election 2008. Retrieved from: http://pr.typepad.com/pr_communications/2008/11/a-pr-strategy-not-social-media-tactics-won-the-presidential-election-2008.html

Felesky, L. (2008, December 5 ). Social media strategy: inside Obama's online campaign. CBC News. Retrieved from: http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/story/2008/12/04/felesky-rahaf.html

Jenkins, H. Confronting the challenges of participatory culture media education for the 21st century. Retrieved from: http://www.digitallearning.macfound.org/

Zak, P. (2009, July 1). Henry Jenkins Interview Short. YouTube. Retrieved from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SGVfJVde164&NR=1&feature=fvwp

Assignment 2: Homebrew Video Games

Article:

Steinberg, S. (2011, February 14). Retro Gaming Looks Big in 2011. CNN Tech. Retrieved from
http://www.cnn.com/2011/TECH/gaming.gadgets/02/14/retro.games.hot/?hpt=Sbin#

A number of older video games have been resurrected from obscurity thanks to gamers and web technology. As mentioned in the article, personal computer games such as Oregon Trail and Where in the World is Carmen San Diego, along with Atari classics such as Yar’s Revenge have recently reappeared on the web to much fanfare.

Video game production companies have predominantly focused on new games, with new features for modern gaming systems. The revitalization of older games has not been lead by these large companies. Instead, it has been an online fan community that has re-created the classics.

Gamers have begun producing what are considered “homebrew games” recently. Homebrew video games are “produced by consumers to target proprietary hardware platforms not typically user-programmable or that use proprietary storage methods” (Wikipedia, 2011). Fans are able to not only re-create older games, but also create mash-ups of older games. Sites such as Newgrounds have collected numerous user-created games for people to play.

They create new storylines using previously generated content. But they have also forced companies to change the storylines of past games. For example, the Mortal Kombat series will now need updated storylines to explain its new release.

The web serves as an enabler of participatory culture, which Jenkins (2006) defines as “a culture in which fans and other consumers are invited to actively participate in the creation and circulation of new content” (Jenkins, p. 290). Message boards, blogs and wikis serve as spaces to collaborate with other like-minded fans. Sharing ideas, information and experiences allows for the creation of new content using older games.

As video game consumers begin creating content, they become what Bruns (2008) defines as “produsers”. Bruns describes produsage as “the collaborative and continuous building and extending of existing content in pursuit of further improvement”. Instead of simply bringing back an older game, fans can make their own modifications to it and allow others to play their new creation. The opportunity to contribute to a communal process is what motivates individuals, according to Bruns (2008).



Bruns, A. (2008). Blogs, Wikipedia, Second Life and Beyond: From Production to Produsage. New York: Peter Lang Publishing.

Homebrew (video games) (n.d.). In Wikipedia. Retrieved February 28, 2011, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homebrew_(video_games)

Jenkins, H. (2006). Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide. New York: New York University Press.

Ostrow, A. (2011, January 26). “Oregon Trail” & “Carmen Sandiego” Games Coming to Facebook. Mashable. Retrieved http://mashable.com/2011/01/26/oregon-trail-carmen-sandiego-facebook

Wilson, J.L. (2011, February 23). Yars' Revenge: Hands On with Atari's Updated Shooter. PC Magazine. Retrieved from http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2380812,00.asp#

Assignment 2: Nordiques Nation

Article:

Klein, J.Z. (2010, December 11). Isles’ Boisterous Crowd Is Filled With Nordiques Fans. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/12/sports/hockey/12nhl.html?_r=2

The Nordiques Nation is an example of collective action as fans have come together to pursue a common goal. Quebec City lost its National Hockey League (NHL) franchise due to financial reasons in 1995, moving to Colorado to become the Avalanche. Fans were disappointed to see the team go and were left with even more anguish when the franchise won the Stanley Cup the very next season in Colorado.

Numerous reports have surfaced that Quebec City is interested in getting a new NHL team. With the potential development of a new arena and political promises to support the club, the goal seems realistic. But it is a group of fans that took the ambition for an NHL team to a new level.

A game between the New York Islanders and the Atlanta Thrashers was attended by 1,100 Quebec Nordiques fans on December 11, 2010. Both the Islanders and Thrashers have two of the lowest attendance records over the past few years, with speculation that their owners may look to a new city if the team does not improve financially. At the fifteen minute mark of each period, the 1,100 fans cheered for thirty seconds to commemorate the fifteen years since they lost their beloved Nordiques.

Here's a clip of the demonstration:



Nordiques fans co-ordinated their demonstration using Facebook, fan sites, Twitter and blogs. Being able to utilize networks between fans was critical to the demonstration. Social media tools such as Facebook and Twitter allowed fans to not only connect, but keep their friends updated on what they were doing to support the cause. For instance, liking the Facebook page also let others know that they were getting involved. To participate, fans require some knowledge and experience regarding social media tools. They had to understand how the tool worked and develop a trust with the larger group that they were to be a part of.

According to Howard Rheingold, smart mobs utilize social networks and technological tools to coordinate collective action (2002). Doing so allows the message to spread to peers and the online community quickly. It also allows the message to be interacted with. For instance, a message could be forwarded, copied and even commented on by others online. Reputations of individuals and groups is also an important part of the Rheingold’s concept of smart mobs. Knowing someone who is part of the group creates a trust of the group, which in turn influences an individuals contribution to the smart mob. With the growing number of mobile devices, information is also shared in real-time. This increases the speed in which the smart mob can form and take action.

Associated Press. (2011, December 10). Nordiques Fans to Send Message with Long Island Invasion. The Sports Network. Retrieved from http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=344972

CTV.ca Newstaff. (2011, February 10). Quebec City, Province Teaming Up to Build Arena. CTV Ottawa. Retrieved from http://ottawa.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20110210/nordiques-announcement-110210/20110210/?hub=OttawaHome

Entertainment and Sports Programming Network. (2011). 2010-2011 NHL Attendance. Rerieved from http://espn.go.com/nhl/attendance

Quebec Nordiques. (n.d.). In Wikipedia. Retrieved February 28, 2011, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quebec_Nordiques

Rheingold, H. (2002). Smart Mobs: The Next Social Revolution. Massachusetts: Perseus Books.

Assignment 2: Ebbsfleet United

Article:

Colchester, M. (2008, January 2). One Team Gets 26,000 Owners. Wall Street Journal. Retrieved from http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119922623784960703.html

The story of how 26,000 fans pooled together to purchase a minor league soccer team in England is an example of collective action. Through the MyFootballClub website , fans were able to contribute roughly $70.00 (USD) each to own a part Ebbsfleet United and have a say in how the team is managed.

Teams are typically owned by individuals or small groups. For instance, Liverpool FC, a soccer team in England’s Premier League is owned by New England Sports Ventures, while the Edmonton Oilers of the National Hockey League, are owned by Rexall Sports. Ebbsfleet United is owned by MyFootballClub Industrial & Provident Society, and have established a board to work with the members and oversee the day-to-day operations.

Owners of Ebbsfleet United can vote on starting line-ups, approve or deny transfers and receive updates directly from the coach regarding player performance. Member input would be conducted online, where they can also watch games and receive up-to-date statistics regarding the club. According to Jenkins (2006), fandom can be considered a knowledge culture. Using a digital medium and technological tools, Ebbsfleet can benefit from the knowledge of fans to potentially improve the on-field product.

The MyFootballClub site offers information regarding how the ownership works, the benefits of joining and how to be a member. MyFootballClub can interact with individuals interested in joining and keep current members informed using social media tools. The site contains links to a Facebook page and a Twitter account as well as the Chairman’s and web teams blogs. Unfortunately, the blog is not regularly updated, giving readers less motivation to follow new postings. A quick glance at their Twitter timeline shows tweets that send updates, but not many interactive messages in the form of replies or retweets to others.

Ebbsfleet United could potentially tap into the collective intelligence generated by the owners of the team. The concept of collective intelligence was introduced by Pierre Levy who describes it as “a form of universally distributed intelligence, constantly enhanced, coordinated in real-time, and resulting in the effective mobilization of skills” (Levy, p. 13). It is for the enrichment of individuals rather than for a community. But the fact that fans can interact with one another using blogs and message boards allows them to enhance their knowledge. By then allowing them to vote on line-ups and transactions, MyFootballClub may be attempting to use this knowledge to benefit the team.



Jenkins, H. (2006). Fans, Bloggers and Gamers: Exploring Participatory Culture. New York: New York University Press.

Levy, P. (1997). Collective Intelligence: Mankind’s Emerging World in Cyberspace. Massachusetts: Perseus Books.