This thesis examines the perceived role of democratization and participatory culture for contemporary film criticism and film festivals, aiming to understand the significance of TikTok and other social media platforms for the industry. For that purpose, film critics and film festival representatives from across Europe and various career stages and ages are interviewed to study how they perceive the developments of film criticism in the age of social media to let them create their own narrative. The findings were then discussed in light of participatory culture, gatekeeping theory, and Bourdieu’s concepts of habitus, field, and cultural capital. Results show that participatory culture enhances the diversity in film discourse and provides younger audiences with entry points into film culture, while also leading to information overload, a lack of filters, and discourse toxification. The line between film criticism and film promotion blurs online, with critics calling for better labeling. As film content on social media shows more characteristics of film promotion, it is not regarded as film criticism by critics. However, it is still considered a valuable asset to the media landscape and film culture. Rather than TikTok and its participatory practices, critics perceive industry dynamics and the crisis of the news media as threatening to their profession. Furthermore, the purpose and role of film critics as gatekeepers are strongly debated amidst the rise of participatory culture. Academic discourse around the topic lacks both the study of TikTok’s relevance for film criticism and qualitative research on how critics and industry professionals perceive the situation. Despite the limitations of interview research, including representation, subjectivity, and quantification constraints, this thesis makes a valuable contribution to both academia and the industry due to nuanced data insights and implications for future research. These include research focusing on other industry players, the audience, and content.

This thesis explores the Predicament of the Learner in an age during which an emergent Participatory Culture supported by networked computers is converging or colliding with a top-down Culture Industry model of education associated with centralised control and traditional learning media. Two case studies explore attempts to use advanced E-learning tools, the Learning Activity Management System (LAMS) and Revolution (a multiplayer role-playing game) to mediate learning activities in the digital classroom. Both reveal the shifting locus of agency for managing and regulating learning and identify a need to understand how learners are creatively appropriating a range of digital media to advance self-directed learning agendas. The main study, The Agency of the Learner in the Networked University, develops these insights through a cognitive anthropology, informed by post-Vygotskian theory, focussed on the digitally mediated practices of 16 post-graduate students who enjoyed unrestricted access to the Internet from their study rooms. The findings chapters explore i) learners designing personalised learning environments to support advanced knowledge work; ii) learners creatively appropriating web-based digital tools and resources for course related study and self education; iii) learners cultivating, nurturing and mobilising globally distributed funds of living knowledge; iv) learners breaking away from lifeworld communities and learning with others in online affinity spaces; and v) learners seeking out opportunities to bootstrap themselves towards the actualisation of a projective identity through serious play in virtually figured worlds. In each case, an attempt is made to innovate conceptual tools that can help us to identify and conceptualise the New Media Literacies (conceived of as expert-like digitally mediated practices) required to exploit the full potential of new media as a resource for course related study, independent learning and self-education.

This study has focused on how the Facebook group #jagärhär has been working on inviting people to participate in the conversation against hate culture online. To examine this, we have conducted qualitative interviews with members and administrators from the group, and made a rhetorical text analysis on posts made in the group. The theoretical concepts used in the analysis are: convergence, participatory culture and democracy, collective intelligence, collective identity and doxa. By using these theoretical concepts, certain strategies in the group could be seen. Some of the most important strategies and tactics that could be seen were that the group had a strict structure - to facilitate engagement and participation - and that there was great focus on being encouraging and motivating in their language. It was also seen that it was important for the group to be visible in traditional media, and to be noticed by public figures - like celebrities - in order to be more visible and to inspire more people to participate / Denna studie har undersökt hur Facebookgruppen #jagärhär har gått till väga för att bjuda in till deltagande i samtalet mot hatkultur online. För att undersöka detta har vi gjort kvalitativa intervjuer med medlemmar och administratörer från gruppen, samt gjort en retorisk textanalys på inlägg som gjorts i gruppen. De teoretiska begrepp som använts i analysen är: konvergens, deltagarkultur och demokrati, kollektiv intelligens, kollektiv identitet och doxa. Genom att använda dessa teoretiska begrepp kunde vissa strategier i gruppen skönjas. Några av de viktigaste strategier och taktiker som kunde ses var att gruppen hade en tydlig struktur - för att underlätta engagemang och deltagande -  och att det var stort fokus på att vara uppmuntrande och motiverande i sitt språk. Det gick även att se att det var viktigt för gruppen att synas mycket i traditionella medier, samt att uppmärksammas av offentliga personer, för att kunna bli mer synliga och kunna inspirera fler till att delta.

評估探究網路社運的研究結果紛雜，與其說結果歧出，不如重新檢視用以分析的路徑。我認為著眼於技術形式的分析路徑可能有所不足，因此，本研究切換視角，自科技與社會研究中汲取養分，從使用中科技（technology in-use）的角度切入，藉機勾勒數位科技在善於把玩者手中所形成的各色風貌，及其打造有別於傳統社運的抗爭戲碼。文中便整理多樣數位科技在社會運動中快或慢地跳脫原先功能與使用方式的情形，突顯全青盟成員是以長期的網路使用經驗為基礎，才能深具創意地將特定科技依運動階段轉換角色，或是有技巧地應運動階段帶進不同的科技，並在多元的科技間加以協調、組合，或是勝任翻譯者的角色，在運動的聲援者與網路使用者之間快速轉換，將嚴肅的運動資訊應數位平台的特色與文化裁剪為引人共鳴的文本。簡言之，用於加強社交的強勢腳本已在愛用且善用的使用者手中退位，數位科技重新以社會運動科技的姿態登場。事實上，這正反映網路世代對社會運動的想像與行動已難排除長期耽溺的網路經驗，於是，無論是社會對話、群眾串聯、組織形式均深受數位參與文化的潛移默化，開創有別於傳統的社運圖像。 / The findings of cyber activism research that focus on technical forms are diverse and confusing. Thus, I believe it is better to reexamine the way of analysis. The article uses the perspective of technology in-use which draws from Society, Technology, and Science (STS) approach to trace the dynamic of young activists using digital technologies in social movement, as well as the characteristics of contemporary internet-embedded social movements beyond traditional ones. The study shows that digital technologies have departed from original scripts in different degrees. Based on the long-term experiences of using internet, members of National Youth Alliance Against KuoKuang Petrochemical Project creatively changed roles of technologies and tactically composed multiple technologies according to the stages of movement. Moreover, they successfully reedited the campaigns which widely disseminated in digital environment based on their capacity for switching identities between activists and internet users. In short, digital technologies were originally used to strengthen human relations. The skilled users/activists of digital technologies have, however, utilized these technologies to promote social movements. In fact, as mentioned above, it also reveals that the imagination and actions of social movements by net generation cannot exclude their long-term experiences of internet use. Therefore, regardless of social dialogue, mobilization and organization structure which are critical elements of social movement, they all have been deeply influenced by digital participatory culture.

<p>Drawing from the theoretical foundations of the “critical theory” of the Frankfurt School and the media ethnographic “cultural studies” approach of the british Birmingham School, this study attempts to sketch out a media theoretical overview of the contemporary state of media culture. Using the term convergence culture as the foundation, this study offers a theoretical background to the two contemporary streams that are the significant and distinct tendencies of convergence culture: intermedial convergence, its contemporary state and historical tendencies that can be traced back using the past media theoretical approach of the Frankfurt School, and cultural convergence, its contemporary state and historical tendencies, which lineage in a media theoretical context can be traced back to the british ethographic “cultural studies” field. Using contemporary drama serials to identify and pinpoint these two stream, this study shows how intermedial convergence expresses itself today through media conglomeration in terms of branding, product placement and marketing as the result of the “completed” convergence between screen culture and popular music as the current defining state of commodity culture. Using the contemporary british drama serial Doctor Who I examine the processes of meaning making among members of the television series fan culture on the popular video content page youtube.com as expressions of cultural convergence.</p><p>This study argues how the skills and talents developed in the interaction with popular culture and in a process of interaction between fans and participants (collective intelligence and participatory culture), will have an impact on the institutionalized knowledge “from above” and in a collective process will seep over to other fields of expertise. The study also argues, as a consequence of convergence culture, that in the contemporary state of online practices, social networking and in our interactions with digital media content, a mandatory “presence” has been created where we today are defined more through our online selves and these practices, than the ones that used to define us in our “physical” lives: “The medium is no longer just the message, we are living in a state where there is only messages”.</p>

Drawing from the theoretical foundations of the “critical theory” of the Frankfurt School and the media ethnographic “cultural studies” approach of the british Birmingham School, this study attempts to sketch out a media theoretical overview of the contemporary state of media culture. Using the term convergence culture as the foundation, this study offers a theoretical background to the two contemporary streams that are the significant and distinct tendencies of convergence culture: intermedial convergence, its contemporary state and historical tendencies that can be traced back using the past media theoretical approach of the Frankfurt School, and cultural convergence, its contemporary state and historical tendencies, which lineage in a media theoretical context can be traced back to the british ethographic “cultural studies” field. Using contemporary drama serials to identify and pinpoint these two stream, this study shows how intermedial convergence expresses itself today through media conglomeration in terms of branding, product placement and marketing as the result of the “completed” convergence between screen culture and popular music as the current defining state of commodity culture. Using the contemporary british drama serial Doctor Who I examine the processes of meaning making among members of the television series fan culture on the popular video content page youtube.com as expressions of cultural convergence. This study argues how the skills and talents developed in the interaction with popular culture and in a process of interaction between fans and participants (collective intelligence and participatory culture), will have an impact on the institutionalized knowledge “from above” and in a collective process will seep over to other fields of expertise. The study also argues, as a consequence of convergence culture, that in the contemporary state of online practices, social networking and in our interactions with digital media content, a mandatory “presence” has been created where we today are defined more through our online selves and these practices, than the ones that used to define us in our “physical” lives: “The medium is no longer just the message, we are living in a state where there is only messages”.

Sociala medier har fått allt större betydelse när det gäller kommunikation mellan människor och för företag har explosionen av sociala medier inneburit både möjligheter och utmaningar. För att möta konsumenterna där de befinner sig har företag nu följt efter kunderna till de sociala medierna. I strävan efter att öka sin lönsamhet har företag tagit tillvara på sociala medier som en ny och effektiv e-handelskanal, en verksamhet som fått namnet social commerce. Social commerce är ett nytt fenomen i Sverige och handlar om försäljning av varor och tjänster via sociala medier. Vårt mål med denna studie är att undersöka anledningarna till varför några svenska företag har valt att använda sociala medier som en plattform för sin e-handel samt klargöra vad det är som gör att sociala medier är en lämplig plattform för e-handel. Studien har genomförts med hjälp av kvalitativa intervjuer med företag som på olika sätt bedriver social commerce. Undersökningen baseras på intervjuer med respondenter från totalt fem svenska företag där tre av dessa står i fokus för undersökningen. Dessa tre företag är; Comviq, Pocket Shop och Lagerhaus, som alla bedriver social commerce. Ytterligare två intervjuer har utförts med företagen Askås och Cloud Nine som utvecklar e-handelstjänster till den sociala medieplattformen. Resultatet av vår undersökning visar att de kommunikativa aspekter som sociala medier innehar underlättar spridning av information vilket är en viktig anledning till varför de undersökta företagen anser att sociala medier passar för e-handel. Den virala spridningen av online word-of-mouth har en enorm effekt tack vare att informationen kan spridas snabbt, effektivt och till många via människor i det sociala nätverket. Denna förmåga är ett viktigt skäl till varför de tre undersökta företagen använder sociala medier som en plattform för sin e-handel. I vår slutsats noterar vi att konvergensen mellan e-handel och sociala medier och konsumenternas behov av att delta är tecken på hur vårt förändrade sätt att kommunicera påverkar vårt sätt att konsumera. / Title: Social commerce - A study of how our changing way of communicating affects the way we consume Number of pages: 39 (43 including enclosures) Author: Linda Bogren Ericsson, Sara Eklöf Tutor: Ann-Marie Morhed Course: Media and Communication Studies C Period: HT 2011 University: Division of Media and Communication, Department of Information Science, Uppsala University. Purpose/Aim: The purpose with this thesis is to study the phenomenon social commerce in Sweden and investigate the reasons why Comviq, Pocket Shop and Lagerhaus have chosen to use social media as a platform for their e-commerce. Furthermore, we want to clarify what it is that makes social media a suitable platform for e-commerce and how e-commerce can take advantage of the unique features that social media possesses. Material/Method: The study was conducted through qualitative interviews with companies who are in contact with social commerce in different ways. The study was based on interviews with respondents from five Swedish companies. Three of these companies, Comviq, Pocket Shop and Lagerhaus are all engaged in social commerce, and the other two, Askås and Cloud Nine are developers of e- commerce services for the social media platform. Main Results: The result of our study showed that Comviq, Pocket Shop and Lagerhaus chose to use social media as a platform for e-commerce in order to increase their sales. Furthermore, social media holds important communicative features that facilitate the dissemination of information. The viral spread of online word-of-mouth can quickly and effectively reach many people through the connected network within social media. This ability is an important reason for why the three companies use social media as a platform for e-commerce. It also emphasizes how e-commerce can benefit from a presence on social media. In our conclusion, we note that the convergence of e-commerce and social media, and the consumer’s need for participation are signs of how our changing way of communicating affects the way we consume.

This multi-site case study examines literacy practices across four theatre companies for young adults. The study draws upon ethnographic methods including interviews, field notes, and video data to show how composing practices situated with acts of design fostered multiple entry points through text, a multimodal stance when reading, collaboration, play, shared response, and sustained engagement in the orchestration of available modalities in the creation of characters. Drawing upon theories of multimodality, play, and masculinities, the study links literacy practices in drama with the configuration of historically subordinated, non-normative masculinities, including self-identified gay youth. These young men reported excessive self-monitoring and identity management strategies within heteronormative school contexts, but took-up a plurality of masculinities as they engaged design practices that encouraged play, risk-taking, and the appropriation of available media in their design of characters. The study cultivates an awareness of how literacy practices in drama intersected with affirming construction of non-normative gendered and sexual identities typically subordinated in school settings, but that were reportedly more aligned with informants’ sense of self. The study draws implications for how educators may help young people critique structures of heternormativity and hegemonic masculinities that often limit the identities and masculinities available in school. In addition, the study draws implications for classroom practice in the language arts that position youth as designers of multimodal texts that allow for multiple representations of the self. / text

Drawing upon the opportunity that the Internet and social media provides anyone with internet access to create, consume, publish and produce digital content, this study aims to examine one of the new means of communication. In today’s digital society creating content and communicating across boarders is easier than ever, but actually getting the point across is not – with an evergrowing number of posts, users and sites there is a struggle close the gap between posting a message and actually having it noticed. This study examines memes – normally seen as easily understood jokes – as means of accessible and simplistic communication by qualitatively examining fifteen feminist memes on Twitter. The study aims to see what the memes are conveying in means of social criticism and feminist orientations, their relation to the online feminist discourses and, lastly, explore the memes’ potential role in the political sphere. The theoretical framework firstly explains memes in relation to Henry Jenkins’ participatory culture, Lawrence Lessig’s remix culture and relates memes to the political sphere based on both Limor Shifman’s meme theory and the two theories mentioned above. Secondly, first-, second- and third-wave feminism is introduced along with radical feminism and the feminist concept of sisterhood. Lastly, the social constructivism sets the groundwork for the study’s choice of method; critical discourse analysis. The critical discourse analysis is used in a modified version along with the ‘verbal-visual unity’; a method designed to take the memes structure – the combination of text and images – into account. These methods are used to identify themes, connotations, modality, interdiscursivity, social criticism and the feminist orientation of the memes. The result reveals that there are four main points of social criticism emphasized in the memes; regarding body norms, regarding belittling of women’s opinions and actions, regarding patriarchal structures and regarding men in general. The main feminist orientation visible in more than half the memes is radical feminism, while second-wave feminism is visible in a third. Meanwhile, the memes’ relation to the feminist discourses varies; smaller discourses have low levels of interdiscoursivity, while the main discourse for online feminism show high levels. The study shows that memes’ – potential – roles in the political sphere are as means of spreading opinion, as ways of constituting new norms in a new reality, and as means of shifting the structures of power in society.

The thesis is focused on the subject of genres in the context of new media, specializing on the biggest Internet online video sharing platform, YouTube. Considering the interactivity of YouTube as a kind of social media site and making contact between the creator and his audience, the genre composition of YouTube channels directly reflects the preferences of the specific audience. The main objective of this thesis is to make an analysis of genres on a sample of five selected professional Czech YouTube channels. The sample is based on current order of channels according to the number of subscribers (namely ViralBrothers, MenT, GEJMR, Jirka Král and Hoggy). After the introduction of how professional YouTube channels operate follows the theoretical part of the thesis defining the basic ideas, which are important to set the methodological framework of the analysis. The analytical part consists of presenting the results of the genre analysis, categorizing genres into a system and defining genres based on their characteristics.