Collation is the act of gathering information you have found (and understood), and combining it into a system or systems made up of parts.
In our contemporary media environment of convergence, collation brings along many challenges. Copyright and intellectual property laws mean that media-makers must be conscious of correctly using and attributing material which they do not own. A fascinating area within the online network is the area of creative commons, of which Lawrence Lessig is a great proponent. Here, licenses are provided which enable the flow and distribution of information, without having to continually grant permission for usage of the copyrighted content. This has bred an incredibly interesting culture of ‘remixing’, which theorists such as Lessig and Yochai Benkler discuss at length. If you’d like to learn more about this, have a look at the documentary below, titled ‘Everything Is A Remix’.
In our contemporary media environment of convergence, collation brings along many challenges. Copyright and intellectual property laws mean that media-makers must be conscious of correctly using and attributing material which they do not own. A fascinating area within the online network is the area of creative commons, of which Lawrence Lessig is a great proponent. Here, licenses are provided which enable the flow and distribution of information, without having to continually grant permission for usage of the copyrighted content. This has bred an incredibly interesting culture of ‘remixing’, which theorists such as Lessig and Yochai Benkler discuss at length. If you’d like to learn more about this, have a look at the documentary below, titled ‘Everything Is A Remix’.
Read/Write culture is one where a reciprocal relationship between the producer and the consumer exists. A prominent example which we have been practicing within during Networked Media is blogs. Comments and linking are imperative features of blogs which facilitate dialogue. I have used linking very strategically throughout this essay in order to enable the finding, understanding and collating of information for my readers.
Tagging and categories are also techniques to facilitate the blogging ecosystem as well. This allows content to be distributed across the online network so that new audiences can reach it. I have learned how to successfully tag and categorise my blog throughout the semester, which you can see here.
Because blogging is a system of collation, there is a strong emphasis placed on the importance of reputation within the blogosphere. Bourdieu’s notion of capital (1986) provides an interesting perspective for viewing the activity of the digital age. He theorises that cultural capital, financial capital and social capital culminate to ascertain how much power and agency individuals can wield. This becomes interesting in the online network, as our profiles and web activities can become mouthpieces for displaying our cultural, financial and social capital.
However, contemporary sociologists and media theorists are beginning to thinking about a new emerging form of capital: that of digital capital. This is the kind of capital which is incredibly important in the digital realm. For example, there is a community of content creators on YouTube who are changing the landscape of traditional celebrity because of their ‘digital capital’ and markers of success. Put simply, the more likes you have, the more important you now are. This is because audiences can see how many other likeminded people are ‘endorsing’ the person or product by giving them their likes, but also so that advertisers can see how worthwhile it might be with them to work with the talent.
Image via flickr user catspyjamasnz
Where this implicates my future profession of journalism is that the publication I work for will be very concerned with trying to maintain a significant online profile - to validate the content for new viewers, and also to entice advertisements (which are, sadly, crucial to the success of journalism).
Click here to read about what this has in common with the role of the curator.
Click here to read about what this has in common with the role of the curator.