Web Writing Assignment 2

The 21^st Century Dictionary

            According to Wikipedia.com, Wikipedia is defined as a free, web-based, collaborative, multilingual encyclopedia project supported by the non-profit Wikimedia Foundation.  Wikipedia boasts over 16 million articles that have been written collaboratively by volunteers around the world.  Nearly all of these articles can be edited by anyone who has access to the site.  Wikipedia was launched on January 15, 2001 by Jimmy Wales and Larry Sanger.  It started out as an English-only website but as its popularity grew, it was translated into other languages to include an expanding global audience.  Wikipedia encompasses everything the internet has become, especially as a way for people all over the world to share knowledge.  It is one of the best examples of how participatory culture and convergence take place on the internet every day.

            In “Worship at the Altar of Convergence,” Jenkins defines convergence as the flow of content across multiple media industries, and the migratory behavior of media audiences who will go almost anywhere in search of entertainment experiences they want (Jenkins, pg. 2).  Jenkins uses this definition to describe how a picture of Osama Bin Laden standing next to Bert, a character from the cartoon Sesame Street, appeared on posters being used in an anti-American protest in the middle-east.  This picture started as a joke created by someone using photoshop on their home computer and ended up half-way across the world.  While this may be a somewhat far-fetched example of convergence it really illustrates how the internet can be used to do almost anything.  Before the internet became so popular the only way that people in the middle-east could possibly know the Sesame Street character Bert is if they saw it on television somewhere.  The access to American television networks and cartoons in the middle-east is pretty rare, so the chances of that happening are slim.  But thanks to websites like Wikipedia, anyone in the world that has internet access can now find this information.  Just by typing the words “Sesame Street” into Wikipedia’s search bar, you can find out anything you ever wanted to know about the show.  The information includes a history of the show, its creators, and even the shows educational goals.  Anyone in the world has access to information that would not be possible without the internet and websites like Wikipedia.  Because of convergence, a television show that was once popular in the United States can be discovered and used by anyone in the world, even in an anti-American protest.  The fact that anyone can go on Wikipedia and define words or look up definitions gives a whole new base of knowledge to the world that was not possible before.  It truly illustrates the beauty of participatory culture and the fact that it is taking over the internet.

            As I mentioned before, anyone with internet access can log into Wikipedia’s website and edit content on their page.  This makes Wikipedia a legitimate member of the internet’s participatory culture.  Zuckerman’s article, “The Cute Cat Theory,” illustrates all the ways that participatory culture has evolved.  He uses the example of the Tunisian presidential aircraft to explain how participatory culture has evolved beyond what it was originally intended for.  He explains that it was originally intended to be used practically in ways such as helping college students find apartments, but that people have found ways to make it their own.  In the case of the Tunisian presidential aircraft it was used to expose the Tunisian first lady using the presidential plane to take shopping trips to Europe.  The same goes for a website like Wikipedia, which was originally intended to be used as an online dictionary.  People have used participatory culture to make Wikipedia their own.  If someone were to open a Webster’s Dictionary and try to look up Sesame Street they would not be able to find it.  That’s the beauty of Wikipedia.  Not only can a person look up Sesame Street and find information, they can look up physics and find reliable information as well.  People can search and disclose information about whatever it is that interests them.  Wikipedia is a library of information that encompasses entertainment, academic knowledge, and every other aspect of global culture.

            Since its early beginnings, Wikipedia has embodied convergence and participatory culture in every sense of the words.  It has become a way for people all over the world to share information about their interests and culture.  Although Wikipedia started as nothing more than an online dictionary it has evolved into a way for people around the world to interact and share information, creating a true online community.