Three months ago, I had no idea what Netprov was, so I tried to do some research online. What I found was an example of Netprov that used Twitter as the platform, and the result seemed very random and disjointed. So, prior to starting our own Netprov project, I was still confused and also a little anxious.

When I finally learned about the idea behind Air-B-N-Me, and the decision to use a website created specifically for this project as the platform, I was relieved and excited to participate. This was such an interesting and unique project idea! I also appreciated the opportunity to get creative in developing a character for the game. I don’t know if I would have been very successful in trying to find creative ways to market the real me…

Originally, I wanted to create a character that was a young child and have the pitch be something about being able to “be young again” and “have endless energy again”. Interestingly, Dave had a very similar idea, and in the end, neither of us went with our child characters. I decided that it would be too difficult to try to film the scenes that were necessary. Also, after signing up for the website, I realized that you had to choose a birth-date for your character (the minimum age was eighteen).

The idea for my serial killer character came about from joking around with the group as we were working through possible character ideas—thanks Dave, Melissa, and Omar! Having such an easily identified character type actually made it more fun to participate. I created Lurk4You, a lovable murderer in a bit of a killing rut. He hoped that by putting himself out there on Air-B-N-Me and having other people lurf him, he could once again learn to love murdering other dudes.  

It was also fun to stay in character when I reviewed other user’s ads. Although I watched plenty of videos, I had to choose which ones to respond to based on the character that I had created. For example, I watched some of Debbie and Martha’s videos, but, alas, I couldn’t come up with a murderer-esque response. I did get to review Laura, Colin, Melissa, and Maria’s ads. 

As far as accessing and creating videos, I agree with what others are saying about it being a little messy and confusing. Some people chose to use Periscope, others used YouTube to upload their clips, and some people just had a paragraph describing the lurfing opportunity. When the project was first introduced, I was an advocate for using Periscope; it seemed like the perfect tool for this project. In actuality, it turned out to be a nuisance--and a nightmare. 

I think it might have worked better if we had all downloaded the app, traded usernames, and followed one another before the project began. (Although I will say that I was beyond relieved that none of  you were following me when my son broadcast his NAKED LEGS to random internet weirdos and they thought it was ME! He is still grounded for that one...) 

YouTube was a more successful and accessible tool for creating and viewing ad videos.  Although, I will also note that sometimes I didn't even need the videos in order to interact with other users. Sometimes their written descriptions of the lurfing opportunities were enough. 

Overall, (well, other than that Periscope horror story) I really enjoyed the experience! The best part was creating a character and interacting with the other characters that everyone had created. It was interesting to see what everyone came up with. If the creators were going to experiment with Air-B-N-Me 2.0, my only suggestions would be: 1) make sure everyone is on the same page (especially concerning video creation); and 2) have the project take place over a longer period of time (it felt a little rushed, and it would have been fun to see this play out over the course of a semester). 

Chapter 6: “Democracy, Civic Action, and Activism”

Chapter six of Participatory Culture in a Networked Era opens with an introduction by Henry Jenkins. Jenkins begins the discussion on “Democracy, Civic Action, and Activism” by discussing the role of participatory culture, and more precisely fan culture, in political engagement and the articulation of a better world. He uses the term “civic imagination”, or the relationship between “acts of the imagination and the origins of political consciousness”.

“Before we can change the world, we need to be able to imagine what another, better world might look like.”

Jenkins asserts that young people are learning to understand themselves as political agents and expressing their political visions with the help of language and practices inspired by popular culture and participatory culture. He uses the example of how is own involvement in the Star Trek fandom gave him the opportunity to see diverse people working together. This is something that he was sheltered from in his segregated Atlanta neighborhood in the 1960’s. For Jenkins, this contributed to his vision of what a better society might look like.

Next, Jenkins writes about a deviation from standard research that typically suggested that young people follow the political example laid forth by their parents, teachers, and school communities.  He notes that, according to the YPP network, involvement in informal learning communities like fandoms and gaming influence the political involvement of young people as well.

Later in the chapter, the challenge of “transfer” is discussed. This refers to figuring out the connections between these online, niche worlds and other sites of power.

“It’s important to recognize both the ways in which participatory culture and online worlds develop these kinds of capacities in their participants and that these capacities need to be explicitly organized to have influence in ‘big P’ politics.”

The authors note the importance of building pathways from politics within an online, participatory culture to more traditional forms of political action. Participation in the Harry Potter fandom is used as an example of the process of empowering fantasy and then linking it to real-world issues and problems. The Harry Potter Alliance (HPA) created a space for fans to participate in a way that makes a real difference in the world. Jenkins mentions that HPA has partnered with government agencies and non-profit organizations to participate in activities such as shipping books to Africa and fighting for marriage equality.   

“The HPA has been very effective at helping participants to map their identities as fans onto their identities as citizens or activists and to organize an effective network committed to ongoing social change.”

Toward the end of the chapter, other network-enabled political activist groups are discussed. Included in this discussion is the group that calls themselves Anonymous. This network has spoken out against and targeted government agencies and commercial entities. While many are critical of this groups fight against anyone that they deem corrupt, Danah Boyd argues that this group is an example of young people coming together in a networked, coordinated effort and that this group is an example of the emergence of new forms of activism.

Is this political activism or anarchy? Jenkins questions who really gets to decide what counts as politics. He notes that many young people who are a part of this culture would be hesitant to label their actions as political or civic. “Youth see themselves as exerting change at a cultural rather than an institutional level”, Jenkins writes. This is acceptable, he argues. And we need to accept this as politics.

Participatory Culture in a Networked Era-- Chapter Four

    Mimi Ito begins Chapter four (titled "Learning and Literacy") by discussing her support for "learning in the wild", or out-of-school learning; her work with the MacArthur Foundation's Digital Media and Learning Initiative; and an approach called "connected learning". Learning, Ito argues, is inseparable from the cultural identities, practices, and material setting of everyday life. In other words, educational practices shouldn't only be concerned with how much knowledge can be crammed inside of a young person's brain while they sit inside of the classroom. Learning happens everywhere, and it occurs all of the time.

     The authors note that progressive education is both hands-on and meaningful, and one must consider the potential of digital and social medias for progressive education. They use the term "positive deviants" to describe people who are unusually successful in mobilizing resources that are widely available in a community setting. This term can also be used to describe those young people who are learning more by producing, collaborating, and organizing in a digital environment than they are from the traditional learning that takes place inside of a classroom. However, the authors do note a disparity:  only a small number of these young people are taking their community-based learning and connecting it to in-school, civic, or career-relevant settings.

     They argue that it is not enough to celebrate the things that teens are learning and creating in a digital environment. In order to form connections between these settings and make these activities matter in an educational sense, young people need parental and educational support.

     One means of providing such support is through interest-centered after-school clubs or specialized camps. The Digital Media and Learning Initiative focuses on connecting the interests that young people have with peer-centered learning with academic and civic participation and career possibilities.

     The authors mention that there are challenges, one being that the networked world of today requires a different set of skills, literacies, and social relationships. What social skills and competencies do young people need to acquire if they are going to participate?

     The next section of the chapter focuses on information overload, or our inability to consume all of the information that is thrown our way digitally—there is simply too much information. The authors note that not only is there too much information, there is also a wide array of different types of information: news articles, status updates, tweets, informative blog posts, GIFs, etc.. It’s not easy for one to sort out what to consume.

    The authors cite different perspectives on the argument of how to solve or resolve the problem of information overload. Some argue for tools that make people more effective at consuming more information, some argue for multitasking or simply accepting the way that things are. To this side of the argument, the author’s respond with the opinion of Linda Stone, who argues that there is no such thing as multitasking, “there is only continuous partial attention, and its physiologically and socially costly”.

    This then leads to the discussion of information quality—“In a world where there is so much information, how much of it is credible?” How does one fine the “good” information?

    To that end, it is important to think about what kind of information gets attention and becomes widespread and why. The authors use the example of teenagers whose tweets get read by millions of people. Why? They note, “What captures people’s attention is often the most salacious, fearful, and gossipy content available. It’s the junk food of content”.

    With this in mind, there exists a debate about whether these technologies are good or bad for kids. Considering this onslaught of information (not all of it good), can we still focus? Can we effectively reflect? But disconnecting and hoping that technology will simply go away is neither realistic nor desirable. According the authors, one must consider “how new norms, practices, and literacies can make our engagements most productive individually and collectively”. They write, “It’s easier to be afraid of technology and media than to engage critically with it”. But, information is power. One must not only understand the information that is presented to them in a digital context, one must also understand how that information gets there, how technical systems work. This is technical fluency.

     Finally, the authors discuss participation as part of a meaningful civic, community, or political engagement. Sometimes, the act of participation is valued more than the quality of the contribution. The authors argue that it is important not to celebrate the act of contribution on its own. There are different kinds of participation, and all participation is not created equally. For example, rating a Netflix movie or hitting “like” on Facebook is not equal to the act of contributing to a group blog.

     The chapter concludes with the message that it is important for adults and educators to not impose their ideas of what is “good” participation on young people. The authors note that the agendas of schools are not always well aligned with what young people find rewarding about participatory culture. The example of Harry Potter fanfiction writers is used. While some educators might argue that teens who write fanfiction are in violation of copyrights or are reading and writing inappropriate material, the authors see these spaces as places where young people are reading critically, writing creatively, and mentoring one another. And they are doing this because they want to, not because they are seeking validation from teachers.

   

    

Participatory Culture in a Networked Era and Vlogging

     Chapters two and three of Jenkins, Ito, and Boyd's book, Participatory Culture in a Networked Era, are about youth culture and their participation in this "participatory culture" and also about the assumptions that we make about that participation.
     We, as a whole, sometimes pass judgement about younger generations, the "digital natives". The authors point out that these young people are often lumped together into a generational category and that adults often fail to see the diversity of youth practices. Chapter two mentions "the need to unpack what people think about youth and technology versus what we are able to see through our research".
     In terms of the social and cultural makeup of the people that participate, there is so much more diversity than one might assume. Three genres are cited in chapter three: entertainment, academic, and construction.
     The section on entertainment used examples that I remember: SimCity, Math Blaster, Carmen Sandiego, and Oregon Trail. I remember playing all of these on my grandma's computer!

(Sorry everyone! I didn't get to finish my blog this week. My dog Tater had emergency surgery last Thursday night and we just got him home yesterday! This is as far as I got with the blogging...)