The start of Convergence Culture by Henry Jenkins left me with the realization that I do not know nearly enough about social media, or the internet in general. This chapter basically focused on "spoilers". What it means to be a spoiler, realistic examples from the Survivor series, and how becoming involved within a spoiler's forum manages to create a type of collective intelligence and community.
Yes, I've heard of spoilers. No, I've never once followed their internet activity.
I don't think I've ever truly been so concerned with the outcome of a show to really pay attention to this type of cluster in social media. Then again, I've never been one for reality television (apart from The Hills..not sure what you'd consider that..). I feel like my opinions on spoilers in general is fairly skewed.
At first I thought these internet fan-forums feeling threatened by spoilers were just, well, silly. I still don't completely understand, but I do seem to be grasping the sense of empowerment through a community. I think that's what Jenkins is referring to when he expands on collective intelligence. Jenkins says, "It is the social process of acquiring knowledge." Each person encounters empowerment through their ability to contribute social knowledge: ideas and opinions from individual experiences. Whether an experience from a trip abroad, educational achievements, or sharing beliefs; the willingness and motivation to expose themselves to a community of fans and to receive support will continue to motivate the contributor to share thoughts more openly. So interesting.
Something I never even knew was that television series' producers will create a format within the show through which viewers may catch onto and be able to possibly figure out an ending. Who knew!!...I wonder what The Hills producers are up to...
I do find it almost pathetic that we as an audience can no longer watch a television show or read a book without some sort of internet forum threatening to spoil the ending. With social media becoming more difficult to ignore, the ability we had to easily distance ourselves from this type of social conversation may be something we have no choice but to be immersed in.
Hm..
Oh, found the interactive marketer, Bert DuMars. He is now following me! Tweet, tweet.
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