Let’s start a film club! Mapping participatory spaces in synchtube.

Abstract

The research field in media studies concerning participatory culture has addressed the power imbalances present in mainstream social media platforms such as Facebook and YouTube, criticizing a misleading rhetoric of democratic potential. Questioning whether unequal rather than democratized power relations have well become the denominator for all forms of participatory culture, this thesis considers the construction of participation in synchtube, a relatively small underground video-sharing platform. Utilizing an analytical framework for the formatting of spaces of participation, it examines he platform’s interface design and routinized user practices as well as addresses unequal power relations between different groups of users active on the platform. This research shows how participation is constructed through the exchange between, and mutual reshaping of, these factors, without losing consideration of their socioeconomic contexts. Furthermore, a discourse analysis of an associated message board reveals reflexive qualities. The analysis of three different channels on the platforms surfaces three different gradations of participatory culture, ranging from non-participation through highly controlled pseudo-participation to possibly democratized forms. This research argues for further research into power inequalities within self-governing online communities as well as noncommercial, underground platforms.