Open AccessDoes Rotten Tomatoes Spoil Users? Examining Whether Social Media Features Foster Participatory Culture
Author(s) -
Glen Farrelly
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
stream
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 1916-5897
DOI - 10.21810/strm.v1i2.13
Subject(s) - flourishing , participatory culture , popularity , citizen journalism , social media , suite , sociology , ethnography , power (physics) , media studies , popular culture , public relations , political science , world wide web , psychology , social psychology , computer science , anthropology , physics , quantum mechanics , law
Participatory culture, as conceived by Henry Jenkins, existed prior to the advent of the World Wide Web. Now, due to the increasing popularity of social media tools, participatory culture is flourishing online as well. One popular movie review website, Rotten Tomatoes, demonstrates this trend. The website includes a suite of interactive, social media tools. Based on an ethnographic observation, participatory culture was seen to be occurring on the site. The power of the website to provide an open and accessible means of cultural dialogue and to encourage civic participation can be observed particularly when online user activity moves beyond discussions of film aesthetics to encompass larger societal and cultural issues. However, despite the site’s intriguing potential, there are various flaws observed that prevent a greater flourishing of participatory culture.