After all...

I think today's last session of class was a pretty good roundup of what we dealt with during the last months.. and time's been racing since then. First and foremost, I feel like I want to thank everybody in this class for the great time, especially from our exchange students' view, and for providing such a supportive and enjoyable environment. One can't take that for granted:)

So what did I personally get out of our class? Boiling it down to three takeaways, I feel like I most enjoyed learning about the importance of participatory culture in the internet age, the emergence of new producers that challenge traditional media, and niche culture and the new possibilities and chances that it offers.

Firstly, knowing and better understanding in how far the internet provides tools and channels to be used by everybody was highly interesting. It is not only the democratized availability of cameras, software, laptops, networks and finally the internet itself that fostered participatory culture. It is also the way in which these media channels have been used to give people a voice and making them connect to each other. Only that allows little, widely dispersed specks to connect to manifest interests - or niches on the Long Tail. As we have seen, these niches are potent enough to challenge the hegemony of traditional media. As Jenkins concluded, they will probably not overthrow them, but at least make the heavy throne they have been sitting on for decades sway. And in the upshot, big media is finally responding to these trends to a certain degree, by providing feedback loops, approaching and incorporating people and their opinion, being active on social networks, and diversifying. From one-sided bombardment of content back in the 80s to a more two-sided model. More choices are always better, as we concurred.

Finally, the way in which real actual people operate their business down the Tail is interesting. Following some golden principles (be remarkable! understand the power of the link! do not hesitate to ask for a review!), and added a little luck, people like Jonathan Coulton or Jason Scott have made it. Geeky and a little weird to most, but brilliant in the eyes of their true fans, they seem to exemplify best how to make use of digital communication, distribute their content and reach their fan base.