Video 1: “Storytelling Part 8: Motivation to Participate“
In Video 1 (Motivation to Participate) Henry Jenkins and Clay Shirky discuss the availability that modern technologies provide the average person to start sharing their own stories. What ‘stories,’ as Jenkins dubs the type of communication he describes, did people not have the time to share or the lack of availability to spread the information they have to new people has been widely eliminated with the advent of the phone and internet in the daily lives of the average person. Shirky further discusses how interests and involuntary participation has led to important changes and creations such as Wikipedia and mass changes in civic culture, overall emphasizing the vast impacts of new modern social sciences impacted by new media.
Video 2: Henry Jenkins on Transmedia
In the second video, Jenkins explores transmedia storytelling, explaining how narratives can unfold across the various new media platforms. He emphasizes the democratizing effect of participatory culture, allowing diverse voices and perspectives to emerge and be heard more regularly. Examples such as the Obama campaign, he illustrates, emphasizes how ordinary citizens can use media platforms to challenge overwhelmingly dominating narratives and advocate for points like social justice. This transformation offers opportunities for marginalized communities to share their stories and reshape how media is represented by the public.
Video 3: Short Interview – Jenkins
In this short interview with USC professor Henry Jenkins, Jenkins discusses a shift into the new media landscape where communication through stories, brands, and relationships spans across a myriad of channels impacted by countless numbers of decisions. In this interview Jenkins argues that cultural change precedes technological change, and with the adaptation of the people to new media, technology will continue to follow to meet the needs of the people using it. This participatory culture that the professor describes is an attitude that enables increased participation and consumerism amongst the average person. New media is able to act as a mass forum, driving forward a societal shift in how content is created and shared.