The Concept of Participatory TV Assemblage and How People Participate in Engaging Television - Essay Example

Participatory TV Assemblage Name: Institutional affiliation: Participatory TV Assemblage With the technology development and new digital environment coming, television has transformed from a closed system to an open system in this decade (Hajli, 2014). As more than ten years ago, we had to sit in front of TV and waiting a program in a regular time. It takes us a lot of time to search the program schedule information by some print media such as newspaper or magazines. Meanwhile, we cannot share our comments with others immediately, and even cannot record or playback. Nowadays, we have a lot new digital television platforms such as Apple TV, Xiaomi TVBox (from China) and Netflix, all this platforms need to access Internet and people can choose their favorite programs. Online sharing and comments, which are becoming a new lifestyle, people can post their own opinion by social media platforms, such as Facebook, Weibo and Douban etc. Meanwhile, people can download and upload their video. There is no doubt that television has become a multiplatform in the 21st century, and participatory TV seen as the next big thing in broadcasting. Furthermore, some international students like me, studying in Australia now we are still connected to what is happening in China. The concept of participatory TV Assemblage and how people participate in engaging Television in their daily life will be discussed in this essay. Participation in this case refers to the ability to have the competency to interact with others in a close socio-technical systems either directly or through a non-networked individuals in a public (Fish, 2013). Increased information technology has enabled people media consumers to participate and engage in traditional media like TV and films (Hamilton, Garretson & Kerne, 2014). The introduction of internet, especially Web 2.0 has created a significant change in the lives of people across the globe (Ekström et al., 2011). Information technology (IT) has created a platform where people can freely share knowledge, borderless engagement, and increased creativity. There has been increased participation among media consumers thanks to the rapid technological development that continues to shape media industry. Assemblage basically refers to a scenario where two or more independent fields interact and influence one another (Hackman, 2010)It incorporates objects like TV set, computers, media houses and companies, and film cameras. The physical objects and forces that form an assemblage are always in constant flux as modern participants in the assemblage destroy old relationships and establish new ones due to increased technology. Assemblage has created multiplatform TV, which has helped in discovering how TV device and media are transformed to show new functionalities and capabilities (Rizzo, 2015). Television has evolved from one platform medium to interactive and participatory medium where people get information from various sources. TV viewers no longer get complete satisfaction from just sitting and watching their favorite program, but instead they prefer to be part of the programs through participation (Rizzo, 2015). The change has been influenced by digital social media because they create a platform where TV viewers can have the freedom and space to engage in programs through posting their comments. Digital platform has given TV viewers liberty to choose their favorite programs in different ways at their convenient time. Digital TV like internet television and IPTV offer modern ways of getting favorite shows while at the same time they have increased personalization and customization practices among TV viewers. Digital TV has come up with three major ways in which media consumers can access their favorite programs when they need them. The first one is pay per view where media users purchase the content package separately; including the broadband access package, the second way of accessing the favorite media is through search and retrieve method where people use their computers or Smartphone applications to search and download or stream live their preferred TV programs (Rizzo, 2015). The final methods is upload and share that give TV consumers to interact with the available show materials that give room for interaction (Rizzo, 2015). The final method can also enable TV users to create and share other user generated content. Digital TV, therefore, has come up with new methods that allow participation of viewers unlike the previous analog TV where watchers were only the recipients. The participation of viewers has been made easier due to the emergence of digital social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. The synergies between TV and digital social media has created innovative way of viewing the function of audience and it has also changed the way TV communicates with the recipients because it gives room for audience to give feedback and participate in various programs (García-Avilés, 2012). Recipients have transformed into users because of their ability to interact intensively and share their experience with a large number of people through social media platforms. Social television has created a fundamental change on how viewers interact and socialize. Websites of various TV channels are incorporating live video streaming services with various social media like Facebook and YouTube in order to create social television (García-Avilés, 2012). The combination of video streaming services with social media allows viewers to remotely socialize with one another through their TV set, smart phones, or PC despite their difference in time and place. Social TV has created a platform where remotely chat when they are tuned to their preferred TV program, share the video through social media, and recommend a program to their friends. Social television, therefore, has reinvented the definition and concept of TV audience because of their increased participation. In addition, the interconnection between Web 2.0 and TV channels has created an opportunity where viewers can create their own contents, which has transformed them to producers, consumers and users of various programs aired by different TV channels (García-Avilés, 2012). Further, Web 2.0 has created unprecedented platform that allows inclusive public participation in the formulation and implementation of policies of media. Consequently, the public has joined the media to play watchdog role on governments across the globe. The media no longer have an exclusive role of choosing the programs and information to pass to the public due to increased audience participation. Despite the fact that viewers are TV audience, they also participate in the production of the programs that they watch. Participatory TV assemblage has gone a notch higher because of the interaction between program viewers and the writers or creators of such programs (Willmore, 2013). Even though not all program creators interact online with viewers, some of them are active in social media where they interact with watchers. There are some websites that enable program creators and viewers to interact when the show runs where the former responds to feedbacks and clarification on the complicated line of the programs. The interaction between TV viewers and creators of programs has made viewers to believe that they are part of the producers of such programs. Some viewers can access social media accounts of characters especially Twitter and they are able to chat with them when the show runs (Willmore, 2013). The social media accounts have enabled the fan communities to air their voices to the creators of the shows they are interested in (Nussbaum. 2002). In some cases, fan communities have been able to dictate the outcome of an episode through online prediction and interaction with characters and creators. Therefore, social media have a significant influence on the programs. Consequently, increased participation of viewers has influenced the creation of various programs because some creators yield to their pressure or opinion regarding characters or plots in a show (Becker & Schönbach, 2013). The interaction between the two parties is likely to increase accountability between them and can make TV programs to adhere to societal norms and values (Becker & Schönbach, 2013). Some programs have perpetuated stereotypes, anti-social behaviors, and discrimination against a segment of a society. However, because of increased participation of TV audience, the programs have changed for the better. Programs that go against the societal norms and values have been condemned by viewers and critics through online platforms like social media and websites. One such program that received criticism from viewers is the True Detective, which had unsatisfactory ending among its followers and viewers. Viewers also had issues with the actions of male characters who seemed to abuse and undermine female characters in the program (Fuller, 2015). Consequently, many viewers reacted angrily about male chauvinism that was being perpetuated the program and its unsatisfactory ending (Fuller, 2015). The internet provided the platform where viewers and critics could air their grievances. One of the film critics, Emily Nussbaum, posted on the New Yorker, in one of her columns criticizing creators of the True Detective of their unsatisfactory work and gender bias on the part of characters (Fuller, 2015). Even though she was criticized the film, she left it for the audience to pass judgment through online participation. Reaction from those who watched the True Detective shows that audience has a participatory role in the creating various programs that are aired on TV. There was the online conversation that was created to analyze the film bearing the hashtag “♯TrueDetectiveSeason2” that was derived from the show (Fuller, 2015). Nussbaum recognized the fact that the best way to shape reception of the show was to mobilize the audience through social online where they could easily share their thought and views on the show. Consequently, reaction from the audience shaped the reception of the show. Reaction from the audience of True Detective shows that even though the audience may not have power to have a direct influence in creating a program, they always have some social and cultural expectations that they would like to be fulfilled by show creators. However, increased technological development, especially the internet and social media have enabled audience influence creation of the programs they watch. They may still lack direct influence on the shows, but social media and internet has given them some powers to influence the quality and contents of various programs (Chen, 2014). In conclusion, therefore, participatory TV assemblage has been influenced by the development of information technology. The internet has created a platform where viewers can also participate on the development of the programs they watch on TV. Digital TV is creating a scenario where the audience is playing dual role of producer and consumers of programs. They can help in creating shows, share with friends and peers, and recommend a program to other viewers. Social media like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube has made it easier for audience to participate and influence programs aired on TV. Media house companies have also realized the shift in nature of audience consumption and they are creating a platform where they can easily interact with the audience. Media houses are now connecting their channels with social media and other online platforms to enable audience participation. Participatory TV assemblage is therefore inevitable in the 21st century, which is characterized with high internet consumption among by the people. References Becker, L. B., & Schönbach, K. (2013). Audience responses to media diversification: Coping with plenty. Routledge. Chen, L. (2014). The influence of social media on consumer behavior: An empirical study on factors influencing consumer purchase. Ekström, A., Jülich, S., LUNDGREN, F. & Wisselgren, P. (2011). History of Participatory Media: Politics and Publics, 1750-2000. Taylor&Francis, New York. Fish, A. (2013). Participatory television: convergence, crowdsourcing, and neoliberalism. Communication, Culture & Critique, 6(3), 372-395. Fuller, G. (2015). Meta: Aesthetics of the media assemblage. Retrieved from https://platformjmc.files.wordpress.com/2015/04/v6_fuller.pdf García-Avilés, J. A. (2012). Roles of audience participation in multiplatform television: From fans and consumers, to collaborators and activists. Participations. Journal of Audience and Reception Studies, 9(2), 429-447. Hackman, P. S. (2010). The media assemblage: the twentieth-century novel in dialogue with film, television, and new media (Doctoral dissertation, University of Illinois at Urbana- Champaign). Hajli, M. (2014). A study of the impact of social media on consumers. International Journal of Market Research, 56(3), 387-404. Hamilton, W. A., Garretson, O., & Kerne, A. (2014, April). Streaming on twitch: fostering participatory communities of play within live mixed media. In Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (pp. 1315-1324). ACM. Nussbaum, E. (2002). Confessions of a Spoiler Whore. Retrieved from http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/culturebox/2002/04/confessions_of_a_spoiler_whore.h tml Rizzo, T. (2015). FCJ-177 Television Assemblages. The Fibreculture Journal, (24 2015: Images and Assemblages). Willmore, A. (2013). Twitter is Changing the Way We Talk About TV, But Is It Also Changing the Way TV Is Made? Retrieved from http://www.indiewire.com/article/tv-in-the-age-of- social-media-sxsw Read More

Television has evolved from one platform medium to interactive and participatory medium where people get information from various sources. TV viewers no longer get complete satisfaction from just sitting and watching their favorite program, but instead they prefer to be part of the programs through participation (Rizzo, 2015). The change has been influenced by digital social media because they create a platform where TV viewers can have the freedom and space to engage in programs through posting their comments.

Digital platform has given TV viewers liberty to choose their favorite programs in different ways at their convenient time. Digital TV like internet television and IPTV offer modern ways of getting favorite shows while at the same time they have increased personalization and customization practices among TV viewers. Digital TV has come up with three major ways in which media consumers can access their favorite programs when they need them. The first one is pay per view where media users purchase the content package separately; including the broadband access package, the second way of accessing the favorite media is through search and retrieve method where people use their computers or Smartphone applications to search and download or stream live their preferred TV programs (Rizzo, 2015).

The final methods is upload and share that give TV consumers to interact with the available show materials that give room for interaction (Rizzo, 2015). The final method can also enable TV users to create and share other user generated content. Digital TV, therefore, has come up with new methods that allow participation of viewers unlike the previous analog TV where watchers were only the recipients. The participation of viewers has been made easier due to the emergence of digital social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.

The synergies between TV and digital social media has created innovative way of viewing the function of audience and it has also changed the way TV communicates with the recipients because it gives room for audience to give feedback and participate in various programs (García-Avilés, 2012). Recipients have transformed into users because of their ability to interact intensively and share their experience with a large number of people through social media platforms. Social television has created a fundamental change on how viewers interact and socialize.

Websites of various TV channels are incorporating live video streaming services with various social media like Facebook and YouTube in order to create social television (García-Avilés, 2012). The combination of video streaming services with social media allows viewers to remotely socialize with one another through their TV set, smart phones, or PC despite their difference in time and place. Social TV has created a platform where remotely chat when they are tuned to their preferred TV program, share the video through social media, and recommend a program to their friends.

Social television, therefore, has reinvented the definition and concept of TV audience because of their increased participation. In addition, the interconnection between Web 2.0 and TV channels has created an opportunity where viewers can create their own contents, which has transformed them to producers, consumers and users of various programs aired by different TV channels (García-Avilés, 2012). Further, Web 2.0 has created unprecedented platform that allows inclusive public participation in the formulation and implementation of policies of media.

Consequently, the public has joined the media to play watchdog role on governments across the globe. The media no longer have an exclusive role of choosing the programs and information to pass to the public due to increased audience participation. Despite the fact that viewers are TV audience, they also participate in the production of the programs that they watch. Participatory TV assemblage has gone a notch higher because of the interaction between program viewers and the writers or creators of such programs (Willmore, 2013).

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