WHEN PEOPLE ARE THE MESSAGE… PUBLIC PARTICIPATION IN NEW MEDIA: USER GENERATED CONTENT

Authors : Özlem Alikiliç

Pages : 1345-1365

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Publication Date : 2008-06-01

Article Type : Other

Abstract :Digital age and new media brought some changes for media users and producers to have interactions in the process of the creation of content. Today, user generated content made it possible for anyone to become a journalist, reporter, publisher, broadcaster, marketer, influencer or a social advisor which could be a frightening improvement for the new communication era. Until this time, traditional media including print and broadcast media had been the broader carriers of news and entertainment, using a delivery system marked by limited options of interaction. User generated content empowers audience to create messages, converting news, generating content and also share and influence others, where others can comment and interact easily and immediately with each other. This paper describes that the message is not generated by the traditional media any more. The message has been shaped by the consumer. Marshall McLuhan’s theories of media, and society are being re-examined in the context of new digital age and communication era. This proceeding tries to provide a new approach to some of his key texts to discern the contribution his thinking can make to our understanding of the present condition. 
Keywords : McLuhan, UGC, Public Participation, New Media