An Architecture for Participation

Mass amateurization in regards to mass media is the dilution of professionalism. The line between professionals and amateurs has most certainly blurred because of he rise of social media. Social media apparatuses such as Twitter and Facebook allow regular people to gain the upper hand against traditional news institutions. People are not necessarily setting their sights on beating the traditional outlets, per se, but are surely not depending on them.


Who needs guns, when we have this.

The amateurs have an advantage because they can virtually be everywhere and report first and experiences. For instance, as soon as the Rutgers Men's Cross Country team won their meet, members of the team posted it on their respective Instagram accounts before the associate athletic director could post the news on he Rutgers athletic website. While the example is miniscule a best, I sill proves nonetheless a how fast information can travel between large groups of people. Clay Shirky believes that the industry will continue to evolve and move along with the times. Shirky explained that “the web makes interactivity technologically possible,” (p 91). The way news is delivered will continue to change.

Fan fiction is rather interesting because it gives readers and avid fans an opportunity to flesh out their respective ideas. Shirky describes that “once a user is connects to the Internet, he has access to a platform that is at once global and free” (p 77). Fan fictions allow fans to experience different outcomes of their favorites readings. Authors can fill in plot holes that were demanded by fans. It's another way authors create an alternate reality for themselves and/or others. Fan fiction allows authors o develop their craft and hopefully y can move onto an original idea of their own. For example, the novel Pride and Prejudice and Zombies is a parody on Pride and Prejudice and is a bestseller.



Anime Creators aren't the biggest fans of the sub culture

This mass amateurization in these respective industries has opened doors for regular citizens to develop skills they otherwise would have had to pay for.  Nothing is set in stone yet, seeing that society is sill witnessing this revolution. It is a changing of the guard. The power of the pen still remains. It's just that his power is in he hands of a lot more people.

A more optimistic perspective can be observed. The citizen journalist can coexist with the professional because it is still the professionals job to be able to effectively deliver the news and tell stories. The citizen journalist, for the most part, is just tying to be the first to the finish line. Fan fiction has existed for much longer, so it seems to already understand its place. The only thing, however, is as people should continue to expect more of it because of the internet.