11 Unlecture

So, something that was brought up in this week’s Unlecture was the idea of a ‘participatory culture’, and how it has flourished with the advent of social media. This got me thinking about the whole culture idea, and whether or not I actually liked it. I’m a big proponent of everyone having an opinion and being as informed as possible, but I’ve found over the past year or so, anonymous participants on the Internet are making me more and more annoyed. This participatory culture has encouraged everyone to have a say, which is fantastic, but the anonymous nature of the internet means that a lot (most, probably) of the ‘opinion’ being offered is just vitriolic negativity. The fact that people can now publish and create on the Internet, and can be discovered through these unconventional means is great, but the overwhelming majority of commentators and spectators is ruining it for everyone else. Can’t this form be reshaped or re-structured? Wishful thinking.

Also found interesting Adrian’s assertion that the Internet wasn’t democratic to begin with – highlighting its cultural beginnings, and the fact that it’s predominantly English.