![Exercise (with 5 groups)Pick a platform and collectively examine its platform policies [Facebook, YouTube, Blogger, Wikipedia, or Indymedia Portugal].Where do these platform policies fall on the ladder of citizen participation? Why?Briefly report your findings back to the larger group](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/isdttalk2010-v2edited-100731020544-phpapp01/85/Isdt-talk2010-v2-edited-9-320.jpg)
Isdt talk2010 v2-edited
- 1. Participation, Power& Online PlatformsLaura SteinLstein@mail.utexas.edu
- 2. OverviewAlternative media scholarship/practiceConceptual tools to examine the conditions of participationHopes/concerns for the future
- 3. Alternative Media (Downing)Offers alternative to mainstream mediaChallenges existing power structuresRepresents/empowers marginalized groupsMakes horizontal linkages between communities of interestProvides an alternative public forum
- 4. Alternative DimensionsContentAestheticOrganizationRelationship to Audience/UsersNoam Chomsky Reads the New York TimesPaper Tiger Reads Paper Tiger TV
- 5. Paper Tiger Reads Paper Tiger Television
- 6. Participatory CultureJenkins- digital media consumers actively participate in the creation and circulation of new content (though under unclear rules and conditions of differential power)Benkler- radically decentralized, collaborative and nonproprietary ways of organizing production (commons-based peer production)Participation fosters empowerment & democracy
- 7. Critical Questions:Do specific instances of participation challenge or reinforce existing power structures? Are opportunities to participate equitably distributed?What are the terms and conditions of participation?Do governments and markets support or suppress participation?
- 9. Exercise (with 5 groups)Pick a platform and collectively examine its platform policies [Facebook, YouTube, Blogger, Wikipedia, or Indymedia Portugal].Where do these platform policies fall on the ladder of citizen participation? Why?Briefly report your findings back to the larger group
- 10. Selected Steps on the LadderCitizen control- puts citizens in full charge of policy and managementDelegated power- gives citizens majority of decision-making powerPartnership- lets people negotiate and engage in trade-offs with power-holdersPlacation- people can advise, but power-holders retain right to judge legitimacy/feasibility of adviceConsultation- people can hear and be heard, but cant insure theyre listened toInforming- people may get necessary information, but the process is one-way with no opportunity for feedback or negotiation