From Many To Many: The Power of Participation

In pre-world war II American society, and even during the war era, content was created and transmitted by an elite few. The media platform for content transmission was radio, and the host responsible for giving information was typically an elite white male. He was not "average" by any standard- he had wealth and status that stemmed from generations of business owners and high-ranking military officials, which allowed him an education and opportunities that the masses weren't afforded. Conversely, however, the people receiving information represented all ethnicities and socioeconomic backgrounds in America: from the Jewish housewives in Brooklyn to the racially-segregated communities in the South. Even the birth of television, a couple of decades later, and then color television, did not significantly change the system of content creation by a few to the masses. This is what Howard Rheingold coins as the "the few to many" media platform.

The internet, and most importantly, participation by people on the web has hacked the few-to-many system. Many people can now create content for others to see. Information that we receive no longer has a certain criteria for style, mood, and timing. Using modern technology as tools, people make whatever they want, whenever they want. Interestingly, the audience has also expanded. A youtube video made by someone living in Seattle can be seen by those in Seoul, Addis Ababa, Manila, Rome, and pretty much every corner of the globe. Participation culture has allowed for a "many to many"system of media creation and transmission.

Celebration of President Obama's 2008 election win by many around the world.

Participation in modern technology and media is so important now that politicians rely heavily on content from the web to gain exposure, and even credibility. Because participation culture does not assume a passive audience, it has become a legitimate source for elections. According to Rheingold, people who participate have a necessary "crap-detection skill"so they are not just going to support any and everything that is on the web. They tweet, blog, and search information that is worth their time. From his announcement of running for presidency in 2007 and throughout his second general election campaign, President Obama has relied on and benefitted from participation culture. The grassroots were key to his overwhelming support by young people and others that are present on the web whom avidly use networking media.

President Obama thanks his campaign staff for mobilizing the grassroots.

President Obama's successful election campaigns are a testament to the effect participation culture can have in the mainstream media. Any president that hopes to be elected to Oval Office from now on is going to need participation by those on the web, and hopefully, the grassroots will create and share information are in his or her favor.