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thebradking's review against another edition
4.0
When I worked at MIT’s Technology Review in 2006, I had the pleasure of editing a few pieces from [a:Henry Jenkins|21885|Henry Jenkins|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1397610390p2/21885.jpg] that would become part of [b:Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide|38860|Convergence Culture Where Old and New Media Collide|Henry Jenkins|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1417984230s/38860.jpg|38588], his seminal work exploring transmedia storytelling and its impact on the television, film, and publishing industries. In [b:Spreadable Media: Creating Value and Meaning in a Networked Culture|14964261|Spreadable Media Creating Value and Meaning in a Networked Culture|Henry Jenkins|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1346173666s/14964261.jpg|20618737], Jenkins and his co-authors expand on that work, examining the ways stories, content, and other created materials are spread through the Web and other interconnected networks.
This is very much an academic’s book, although the enhanced version does have essays and writing from professionals in the field. It’s main thesis is that people involved in entertainment — from creators on through executives — must change the way they calculate value. Today’s metrics can’t simply rely upon how many people watch, read, or listen to something. They must also understand the value of media that is both easily and often shared. In a networked world, spreadability is as important as watchability, or readability, or listenability.
Like much of Jenkins’ longer works, this isn't a beach read. It’s meticulous and thorough, which I don’t mean as a pejorative analysis. He and his collaborators are exacting in their language, making sure to avoid some of the well-worn fawning about the power of new technologies. They are careful to articulate the ways in which spreadability can benefit creators, while also examining why it’s not the panacea for all creators.
For those who have been involved in the field, the conclusions and discussions weren't particularly new or insightful, which was a bit disappointing. Of course, that may be the nature of follow up work. The real insights came from Convergence Culture and Jenkins’ blog, Confessions of an Aca-Fan, where his writing feels very much more tuned to research and applied theory. Spreadable Media’s ideas felt more like a survey course for an audience of entertainment industry executives and creators-in-training.
Still, Spreadable Media is a must-read for anyone who is serious about creating stories and other digital content, whether as a hobbyist or a professional.
This is very much an academic’s book, although the enhanced version does have essays and writing from professionals in the field. It’s main thesis is that people involved in entertainment — from creators on through executives — must change the way they calculate value. Today’s metrics can’t simply rely upon how many people watch, read, or listen to something. They must also understand the value of media that is both easily and often shared. In a networked world, spreadability is as important as watchability, or readability, or listenability.
Like much of Jenkins’ longer works, this isn't a beach read. It’s meticulous and thorough, which I don’t mean as a pejorative analysis. He and his collaborators are exacting in their language, making sure to avoid some of the well-worn fawning about the power of new technologies. They are careful to articulate the ways in which spreadability can benefit creators, while also examining why it’s not the panacea for all creators.
For those who have been involved in the field, the conclusions and discussions weren't particularly new or insightful, which was a bit disappointing. Of course, that may be the nature of follow up work. The real insights came from Convergence Culture and Jenkins’ blog, Confessions of an Aca-Fan, where his writing feels very much more tuned to research and applied theory. Spreadable Media’s ideas felt more like a survey course for an audience of entertainment industry executives and creators-in-training.
Still, Spreadable Media is a must-read for anyone who is serious about creating stories and other digital content, whether as a hobbyist or a professional.
alexander0's review against another edition
1.0
This book made me visibly upset at times. There is a great deal of rewriting what economic concepts mean here. Understandably, much of this is believably the case because neo-liberal economics seems to avoid the cultural attitudes of individuals as they relate to the collectives/groups/crowds which develop media through their own labor.
However, there are alternatives in Austrian economic thinking, and the current strain of game theory in networks that are very valuable to this conversation. However, here it seems much of those ideas were either appropriated without citation or the authors were without any background to speak on those topics. It seems strange to me that so much conversation was dedicated to economic theory here that barely any economics was actually read. It seems dominantly Marx was cited and taken as an authority on this; however much attention is paid to the individual. For this to be argued, ONE MUST READ AND CITE ECONOMIC INDIVIDUALISM! One cannot straw person these arguments, and pretend that this is the first case that this has argued this from a media production stance on value of "free labor" or "labor residual" or whatever. These is all clearly argued in labor theory of economics. People have discussed this in the context of social networks, but here it's as if the authors just prefer to pretend that such a strain of economic thinking has never been considered.
This book is often a misappropriation of economic thinking and almost entirely is valued on its marketing of phrasing. Sure, "spreadable media" is a useful semantic product, but I don't see why I have to use the arguments here instead of arguing on the basis of informational products being communicated through society in other ways, starting with Hayek's arguments about the differences in value and price in his "The Use of Knowledge in Society" and following to the work of Leonid Hurwicz and a more accessible use of his students' work.
I feel as though this work was largely void in teaching me anything new, and instead taught me how far the abuse of economic theory can go in order to straw person economics as ignorant of culture, when it is actually the cultural research which is the offender of ignorance.
However, there are alternatives in Austrian economic thinking, and the current strain of game theory in networks that are very valuable to this conversation. However, here it seems much of those ideas were either appropriated without citation or the authors were without any background to speak on those topics. It seems strange to me that so much conversation was dedicated to economic theory here that barely any economics was actually read. It seems dominantly Marx was cited and taken as an authority on this; however much attention is paid to the individual. For this to be argued, ONE MUST READ AND CITE ECONOMIC INDIVIDUALISM! One cannot straw person these arguments, and pretend that this is the first case that this has argued this from a media production stance on value of "free labor" or "labor residual" or whatever. These is all clearly argued in labor theory of economics. People have discussed this in the context of social networks, but here it's as if the authors just prefer to pretend that such a strain of economic thinking has never been considered.
This book is often a misappropriation of economic thinking and almost entirely is valued on its marketing of phrasing. Sure, "spreadable media" is a useful semantic product, but I don't see why I have to use the arguments here instead of arguing on the basis of informational products being communicated through society in other ways, starting with Hayek's arguments about the differences in value and price in his "The Use of Knowledge in Society" and following to the work of Leonid Hurwicz and a more accessible use of his students' work.
I feel as though this work was largely void in teaching me anything new, and instead taught me how far the abuse of economic theory can go in order to straw person economics as ignorant of culture, when it is actually the cultural research which is the offender of ignorance.
jrt5166's review against another edition
4.0
I thought Spreadable Media was quite good. It brought up a lot of points of the various ways that media is evolving. One of the most intriguing parts to me was a discussion of how online piracy creates a wider audience for a work and whether that advantage compensates for the lack of monetary compensation.
The idea of an enhanced book intrigues me, and I look forward to reading the some of the essays posted on the website.
The only downside of this book was stylistic. It suffered from the seemingly inevitable dryness of academia as well as a lack of a distinct voice. The voicelessness was probably a result of the multiple academics coauthoring the work. It is hard for three people to speak with one voice. However their collective knowledge more than made up for the somewhat challenging reading experience. All three of them are clearly experts in media studies, and the work was meticulously researched.
The idea of an enhanced book intrigues me, and I look forward to reading the some of the essays posted on the website.
The only downside of this book was stylistic. It suffered from the seemingly inevitable dryness of academia as well as a lack of a distinct voice. The voicelessness was probably a result of the multiple academics coauthoring the work. It is hard for three people to speak with one voice. However their collective knowledge more than made up for the somewhat challenging reading experience. All three of them are clearly experts in media studies, and the work was meticulously researched.
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