The prompt for this blog post is in relation to participatory culture, communities and networked learning environments. We were instructed to watch the first 15 minutes of An Anthropological Introduction to YouTube (Full video). I ended up watching the whole thing, because I was so enthralled by the video and the message. The keynote, Michael Wesch describes the changing culture of participation as it relates to the creation and expansion of YouTube.

As I was watching this video, I was reminded of a textbook I used in one of my sociology classes. One of the parts in the text talks about Social Network Sites, New Media and Social Networking. I don’t know how I remembered this part of the text, because it’s been about five years, but I remembered seeing a Social Media timeline, flipped to it, and figured it would be a good visual to share!

The chapter itself talks about networking as a way to connect with strangers, whereas social media is usually to connect with people we know. It delves deeper into the history and philosophy of participatory culture, how our identities are formed through media and cultural studies, and how we are influenced in and through (social) media. If you are ever bored, want to learn something, and have some time to kill, definitely check out some of the readings!

Below, you will find my video response and reflection, as well as the implications of what participatory culture means in an educational setting. I figured a video response would be a more appropriate reflection to participatory culture, so bear with me — first real video, and first attempted editing job. Had to just post what I had before I threw my phone!

Enjoy–