Participatory Culture

In 2004, the popular social networking website Facebook was created. I am constantly on Facebook and go on the website every day. I have shortcuts on my computer to the website and my homepage. When I open the internet it is automatically set to open Facebook. “Since January 2007, the average number of new registrations per day has grown to 250,000 and there are over 57 million users on the website” (computer.howstuffworks.com). Facebook is a participatory culture because users not only use the services it offers, they also submit their content.

There are many benefits to having a Facebook account. It is a huge communication tool! You can instantly interact with friends and family all over the world or connect with old friends. You can easily communicate through the instant message feature, a wall post, or a message to an inbox. Facebook also has thousands of groups that you can join. Although some groups are pointless and made for humorous purposes, there are more meaningful groups found on the website. You can join a not for profit group like the Salvation Army , or an activist group like Green peace, or a political group, like the NDP Party of Canada. Facebook groups are also created in times of crisis and support. When Brandon Crisp, a Barrie Ontario boy, ran away from home, Facebook groups were created to support the family.

The reason that Facebook is a participatory culture is because users take advantage of the services offered while submitting their own content. On Facebook, you can submit photos, videos, and personal information. You can tell stories, write ideas, and write opinions. You can also comment on items that other people have posted. Furthermore, you can create and form groups about anything you like! You can also download applications, to add to the Facebook experience, or create your own application and share it with others. In a keynote address delivered at the Inaugural Media Ecology Association Convention, Neil Postman explained how “a medium is a technology within which a culture grows; that is to say, it gives form to a culture’s politics, social organization, and habitual ways of thinking” (Postman). Facebook has done just that. A whole culture has grown inside the application of Facebook.

Facebook is a participatory culture because not only do I take advantage of the service, I also submit a lot of my own content. Facebook allows users to submit content and this further develops the culture within the program.

Work Cited

Postman, Neil. Keynote Address. Inaugural Media Ecology Association Convention. Fordham University, New York, NY. 16June 2000.

“How Facebook Works”. How Stuff Works Inc. 9 November 2008.
< http://computer.howstuffworks.com/facebook5.htm>.