Reflections on the course: Convergence, Participation, digital devide&my web 2.0 analphabetism
Convergence
culture gave us a broad idea about how we could see and analyse the world that
we are living right now. We have the possibility of participating and consuming
and producing cultural content or media content at one , while this content can
be accessed and disseminated via various platforms (Jenkins, 2006).
Jenkins
(2006) also sees the democratic potential of participatory culture while for it
to be realizes we would have to address barriers to participatory culture.
One barrier
would surely be that in relation to the world population very few people have
access to internet and there is surely a difference in the degree of access
people have.
While I was
in Namibia, I had no internet at home as it is very expensive. It costs like
100 Euros just for the connecting and then you did not pay for using it yet. So
I had to get used to not using the internet that much. I went to the internet
café once a week to write emails, which I would write in advance on my home
computer and if I had to research something for university I could in my senior
year use the media lab but we had limited access to it.
So I did
not have a face book account, watch youtube videos etc.
I feel a
bit left behind now that I am back and my friends tell me to get a studivz
account (German face book) , myspace website or watch series on alluc.org
Although
there were students in Namibia that had all these thing and memberships, I
always felt since I did not have internet at home I would not have the time to
just log, update and comment.
And
fanculture and gamingculture is also still kind of distant to even if we do
have a playstation at home (my little sisters'). So far I always considered it
as something that I do not really want to be part of, as something that is
rather anti-social...Alright actually I haven't really thought about why I never
wanted to participate in it, so know I am trying to make up explanations.
Well, I am
looking forward to the gaming module, because maybe this Master is a chance
understand this new culture.
So far in
terms of participation and all the new
'things' I feel like my own grandmother.
Jenkin, H.
(2006). Convergence Culture. Where Old and New Media Collide, p.1-24. New York & London: New
York University Press.
