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carolined314's review against another edition
2.0
If you're a librarian, little of this book will be new to you. But the examples are pop culture-y, and even include my favorite kind of game: Alternate Reality Games, played in real life!
It's not a hard read, and vaguely entertaining. If you are a Luddite, it might be eye-opening.
It's not a hard read, and vaguely entertaining. If you are a Luddite, it might be eye-opening.
jaycer17's review against another edition
4.0
I've always been fascinated by how the new Web is working, how we are shaping our culture ourselves, albeit with somo obstacles yet to overcome. This book cements that fascination. Jenkins manages to make what is happening when when he calls grassroots and traditional media get together. I had already read about some of the cases he makes (like the veryu complex experience that is The Matrix world) but he explains it in detail. This is not a book for cyber-geeks or entertainment freaks. This is for anyone who has an interest in understanding how popular culture is working nowadays. Great read.
livrelibre's review against another edition
4.0
I always like Henry Jenkins and this book is no exception. He does a good job of exploding the one-device idea of convergence and paying attention to the social and cultural processes around convergence and participatory culture without getting too frothy. The first few chapters which examine the role of fan communities and corporations' alternate stances on them were pretty good in outlining the punitive/"collaborative" stances that companies (and different entities within one conglomerate) have taken toward fans and fans' responses to and awareness of theses strategies. However, typically, I liked best the last three chapters that talked about fannish practices of remix, appropriation, community-building and participation that pave the way we deal with cultural and moral questions, literacy and education, political participation and how we can apply these skills to an increasingly transmedia world. Of course I like the call not to get wrapped up in the technology, the brand, or the inevitability of convergence and miss out on this "critical utopian" moment.
owlmoose's review against another edition
4.0
Thoughtful and thought-provoking look at how new media is changing the ways in which we relate to old media. I found it much more engaging than the more academic articles in [b:Fans Bloggers and Gamers: Media Consumers in a Digital Age|104754|Fans, Bloggers, and Gamers Media Consumers in a Digital Age|Henry Jenkins|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171524833s/104754.jpg|101003] -- I was even entertained, enough that I could read it while traveling. One of the things I appreciate about [a:Henry Jenkins|947|William Shakespeare|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1179017891p2/947.jpg] is that he writes about the Internet without either glorifying or demonizing it, and that he also looks at older media with a clear eye as well; he understands their strengths and weaknesses, and has a strong sense of where old media and new can complement one another. His approach is also very user-centered -- I think he does a good job of actually examining what people do, rather than being blinded by his expectations.
The book does have a serious downside: it's dated. The publication date is 2006, but the text is clearly much older, by several years in some cases. The chapter on media convergence and politics focuses on the 2004 presidential election, the chapter on Harry Potter was written before the release of HP5, the chapter on fans picking up clues from a television series to figure out the truth of what's happening focuses on Survivor and The Matrix series was used as the primary example of a cross-media text. I found myself itching for more recent perspectives: what does he make of Lost and the elaborate games the producers play with the fans? What about the cross-media presence of Heroes, or the presidential campaign of Barack Obama? (As an aside, I wouldn't be at all surprised if someone in the Obama campaign read this book and applied its lessons to their online strategy.) I do read Jenkins's blog from time to time, and I plan to go back through his archives to see if he addresses any of these issues. But it is an unfortunate limitation of academic works on fandom.
That said, I still find what Jenkins has to say relevant and interesting, even if I have to make some of the broader connections myself. And his final call to action -- fighting censorship, overly broad copyright restrictions, and the consolidation of mass media -- is as timely as it ever was. Definitely recommended.
The book does have a serious downside: it's dated. The publication date is 2006, but the text is clearly much older, by several years in some cases. The chapter on media convergence and politics focuses on the 2004 presidential election, the chapter on Harry Potter was written before the release of HP5, the chapter on fans picking up clues from a television series to figure out the truth of what's happening focuses on Survivor and The Matrix series was used as the primary example of a cross-media text. I found myself itching for more recent perspectives: what does he make of Lost and the elaborate games the producers play with the fans? What about the cross-media presence of Heroes, or the presidential campaign of Barack Obama? (As an aside, I wouldn't be at all surprised if someone in the Obama campaign read this book and applied its lessons to their online strategy.) I do read Jenkins's blog from time to time, and I plan to go back through his archives to see if he addresses any of these issues. But it is an unfortunate limitation of academic works on fandom.
That said, I still find what Jenkins has to say relevant and interesting, even if I have to make some of the broader connections myself. And his final call to action -- fighting censorship, overly broad copyright restrictions, and the consolidation of mass media -- is as timely as it ever was. Definitely recommended.
lizshayne's review against another edition
I liked the premise of this book and I found the overall argument to be both interesting and, with some exceptions at the end where Jenkins tries to provide a voice for the future, persuasive.
What follows is not a review of the book, it's an observation.
If you're writing a book about popular culture, even for an academic audience, you might want to assume that some of your readers--while probably also academics--are what one might call huge nerds. Not that you have to write "for" them, but you should account for that and remember that we take our genres no less seriously than academic scholars and the difference between getting our canonical information wrong and misattributing a Shakespearean quote is one of degree, not kind.
1) It's spelled Gandalf, not Gandolf. Gandolf is the name of a priest in Robert Browning "The Bishop Orders his Tomb at Saint Praxed's Church" (and last year's January winter storm, for reasons still unknown). Gandalf is the wizard in Lord of the Rings.
2) Ewan MacGregor did not play a young Qui-Gon Jinn, he played a young Obi-Wan Kenobi. Liam Neeson was Qui-Gon Jinn.
What follows is not a review of the book, it's an observation.
If you're writing a book about popular culture, even for an academic audience, you might want to assume that some of your readers--while probably also academics--are what one might call huge nerds. Not that you have to write "for" them, but you should account for that and remember that we take our genres no less seriously than academic scholars and the difference between getting our canonical information wrong and misattributing a Shakespearean quote is one of degree, not kind.
1) It's spelled Gandalf, not Gandolf. Gandolf is the name of a priest in Robert Browning "The Bishop Orders his Tomb at Saint Praxed's Church" (and last year's January winter storm, for reasons still unknown). Gandalf is the wizard in Lord of the Rings.
2) Ewan MacGregor did not play a young Qui-Gon Jinn, he played a young Obi-Wan Kenobi. Liam Neeson was Qui-Gon Jinn.
paolos's review against another edition
5.0
Dalla galassia gutenberghiana alla cultura della convergenza: come i new media reinventano quelli vecchi. La comunicazione del XXI secolo รจ tutta in questo saggio.
ethicsofseeing's review against another edition
4.0
great book to learn the basic concept of media convergence, participatory culture, and how old media struggle to 'find their way' in the new media age. interesting!
allzen_nochill's review against another edition
4.0
Really fascinating read 13 years later as we're in the era of streaming content, AI, and interrogating media interference in the 2016 election. Some references may feel outdated, and yet some are incredibly prescient.
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