Week 4 Reading Responses
Rise of the Participation Culture
by Steve Borsch, CEO
Marketing Directions, Inc

Introduction
The shift in Internet use from passive to active has changed the infrastructure of technology in today's society. We have become a participation culture. Young people today do not wait for someone else to create a solution for their technological problems; they create their own solutions. This is a very different mindset from the previous computer generation.

The authors of Rise of the Participation Culture contend that this paradigm shift is on par with such notable historic events as the introduction of the printing press, telegraph/telephone, railroads/automobiles/planes where an improved system of creation and distribution of products and services changed our society. The global reach of an participatory Internet has allowed people from all over the world to create a new culture not bound by geography.

The "Participation Culture" is built upon three pillars: Internet, Participation, People

Internet as a Platform
Web-based applications mean that users are no longer tied to the computer or location where their application is stored. Users no longer need to worry about updating to the "latest" version of an application when it is housed in virtual space. The Internet has become its own operating system.

Participation Applications
User involvement is the key to the current Web culture. A network effect has been created by participants on such sites as Wikipedia, ebay, and online directory services such as LinkedIn. The driving force of sheer numbers results in a more powerful and valuable interactive experience.

Gaming and Virtual Worlds
A prime example of how pervasive the Participation Culture has become is in the gaming and virtual worlds arena. Annual revenues surpass even the motion picture industry. Projections indicate that worldwide gaming revenues will reach over $54 billion by 2009. No longer the domain of children, these gaming and virtual worlds are populated by people of all ages. The ability to create and "live" in other worlds has great appeal to many people. Many large companies in the "real" world are dipping into online gaming and the "virtual" world.

The suggestion was made that even educators are exploring the learning potential of virtual worlds. Imagine teaching a unit on Ancient Rome, creating a virtual city, and having students "live" in history. Talk about sparking imagination!

The possibilities are intoxicating but, I also worry about the drawbacks. While our world seems to be expanding exponentially, are we also in danger of becoming too virtual? Could these be the classrooms of tomorrow? "Virtual" classrooms where students login for class already exist. Will students lose that opportunity to learn how to interact on a face-to-face basis?