Are the media becoming more democratic?

Since the introduction of new and digital media taking a more active role in how we consume media, audiences are having more of a say in what they consume. The discovery of Web 2.0 has also enabled people to participate in creating and generating content, and allow those who are consuming it to comment on and share their opinions on the subject matter.  The use of social networking has given audiences the opportunity to communicate ideas and connect globally. This in turn challenges and creates competition with the mainstream media. With audiences being able to share their ideas and opinions and no longer being herded by mainstream media, media has become democratized. 

An aspect of media becoming more democratic is where audiences are able to create, share, consume and edit the content. This has become possible with media sharing websites and social networking sites such as YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, Wikipedia and Blogger. This links to David Gauntlett’s theory that in the past large expensive equipment was required to produce and distribute media, whereas now the inventions of digital technology such as laptops, mobile phones and camera’s have enabled us to do this, which are also fairly cheap. Audiences are no longer channeled being channeled by the mainstream media, and are able to decide what, when and how they want to consume media.

Another concept which has enables members of the public to take an active role in collecting information is citizen journalism.With the help of Web 2.0 and mobile technology, people are able to spread news and information globally. An example of this was during the London Riots where witnesses were filming and taking photographs of the rioters looting shops and creating destruction in the different areas. One piece of footage that caught people’s attention was of a West Indian woman from Hackney who confronted the rioters, expressing how she felt about the situation and essentially scolding the youths for their violence. The video went viral through social media on sites such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube and quickly became an internet hit after being tweeted by stars such as Piers Morgan. Once again, this supports one of David Gauntlett’s ideas that large expensive equipment is not needed to create and produce information, as people were able to record the violence simply by using their mobile phones and were able to spread the news as effectively. Citizen journalism shows the media becoming more democratic as people are recording and providing the information themselves. In some big institutions rely on these citizens footage to cover a story effectively.  

However it may be argued that the footage and information that these citizens are providing may not be as reliable and the quality may also be reduced, which is not as effective as material that mainstream media is able to produce. 

Social media has established a public sphere which enables the public to freely debate about issues and develop their own ideas. It creates opportunities for communicating with different people around the world by simply commenting on posts. This supports Clay Shirky’s idea that sites such as Facebook and YouTube have created a platform to share ideas and information easily. An example of the media strengthening the public sphere was when the Syrians were able to show the world the violent protests that were taking place, through the use of mobile technology. They were able to inform the rest of the world of the violent activities that were taking place in Syria, creating a debate online. 

However as Evgeny Morozov states, the invention of new technologies can create threats such as the government being able to monitor and censor sites on the internet such as Facebook and Twitter. In Syria the government found out about the members of the public taking videos of the protests and turned off the internet across the country for a day.

The Long Tail & The Wikinomics

1. What is Chris Anderson’s theory of ‘the long tail’?

Chris Anderson theory states that due to broadband internet allowing more people to look for/share/buy a wider range of products, people are buying less of more. This in turn means that our culture and economy are increasing shifting away from focusing on mainstream products and are moving toward niche products. 'Niche' materials are cheap to distribute and also offer a range of filtering services to help consumers find them, such as blogs, lists, customer reviews etc. The broadband has enabled us to have sufficient access to things, being able to choose from an 'infinite variety. There is a limitless choice of places to buy from. 

2. What does the theory of ‘the long tail’ mean for the music industry and to other areas of the media such as online television?

3. What is Don Tapscott and Anthony Williams’ theory of Wikinomics? 

Don Tapscott and Anthony Williams' invented a term called the 'Wikinomics' which describes the mass collaboration and people participating to create material. Althought the 'Wikinomics' is essentially a Web 2.0 phenomenon, it can be extended to our culture and economy.  The first implementation of 'Wiki' is Wikipedia, which is a software owned by nobody, enabling users to collaborate on the wesbite, therefore being constantly updated. It essentially means we are becoming our own supplier, as people are individually and collectively able to program the web. 

4. What are the five big ideas of Wikinomics and how might these ideas be applied to the music industry?

Peering - the free sharing of material between people. An example of free sharing of material in the music industry are social media sharing websites such as YouTube, Facebook and Spotify.
Advantage - cuts down distribution for businesses
Disadvantage - bad for people who want to protect their materials and ideas.

Free Creativity - enabling people to use materials freely. However a service called 'Creative Commons' protects people's material, only allow users to change their material within limits.


Democracy - the media is become democratized with people being able to share and use material freely.  Audiences are able to make their voice heard by commenting on materials.

Globalization -  Web 2.0 enables thinking and sharing globally inevitable, through the use of social media and networking sites.

The combination of three things = Perfect Storm. The perfect storm has meant that any media company that tries to operate without Web 2.0 will not get very far.

Web 2.0 technology
Demographics - young people being grown up in a collaborative virtual world, where technology is natural to them
Economics - development and marketing 

David Gauntlett's ideas

1. According to Gauntlett, what was "the media" like in the past and what changes have now occurred?

In the past, schedules were set by the media, which the media consumers had to respond to and shape their lives around these times. People were never given a choice as to how and when they were able to consume the media as this was dictated by the media institutions. Previously large, expensive equipment was required to create and distribute the media. Studios were also needed to create the media. David Gauntlett describes the big media institutions as 'The media Gods' distributing and creating media for consumers who he calls 'The little people'. The 'Gods' controlled how and when you could get the media. The 'Gods' were powerful. They sent messages down the 'the little people'. 

However nowadays, we do not need large expensive equipment to produce and share media, as we have small devices such as laptops and mobiles which enable us to do this. An example of a website that enables people to do this is YouTube. People typically talk about their lives or experiences and are able to gain a large audience. These websites such as YouTube, Myspace and Wikipedia enable content to be provided by the users to be distributed to other diverse users around the world. This creates competitions with the big media institutions such as the BBC and Sky News. 

These sites that enable consumers to create and distribute media are helped by Web 2.0 which allows people to share content and express their opinion on the material. This creates diversity in the content that is distributed. 

2. How far do you agree with Gauntlett?

I agree with Gauntlett as people are not controlled and restricted to the types of media they are able to consume. Wesbites such as YouTube, Facebook, Myspace and Twitter enable people to view content which may not be shown by media companies such as the BBC and also share their opinions by commenting on posts. As David Gauntlett said, this has created competitions between the big media companies who are not always able to share and produce the diverse material which is available on the the media sharing websites.