Jenkins argues that the emergence of the Internet has spawned a new participatory culture. He says that "this ability to share media has helped to motivate media production, resulting in an explosion of grassroots expression." (Jenkins, 2006)
We are no longer just consumers of media, we have become 'prosumers' (consumer + producer). We debate online and give feedback. We generate and remix content on Youtube and blogs.
One of my friends has even created his own Soundcloud page:
Click this and listen to Insteption :)
Cool Youtube examples of remixes are:
Snatch Wars
Wishery (Disney remix)
Justin Bieber vs Slipknot - Psychosocial Baby
Andrew Keen is critical of the increase in free user-generated content, as seen in his book The Cult of the Amateur: How Today's Internet is Killing Our Culture (2007). He argues that "most of the content being shared - no matter how many times it has been linked, cross-linked, annotated, and copied - was composed or written by someone from the sweat of their creative brow and the disciplined use of their talents". He believes that the creators of the content aren't being credited for their work when it is being remixed.
To an extent he is correct. However, there is a way for creators to retain ownership and for copyright not to limit the remix culture. Creative Commons' copyright licenses give artists and institutions the choice to have either strict or loose copyright control over their own creative work. This means that the creators are able to retain ownership of their work and be credited for it, while allowing others to copy, reuse and distribute it. Creative Commons states: "We realize there’s an inherent conflict between innovative digital culture and archaic copyright laws. Our licenses help bridge that conflict so that the Internet can reach its full potential."
By having content freely available to be shared or remixed by the public, it enhances our culture and encourages creativity for anyone with an idea and an Internet connection. As Doctorow said, "If culture loses the copyright wars, the reason for copyright dies with it."
