Who is Minding the Gate in Voluntary Knowledge Cultures?

Voluntary Knowledge Cultures: Who Is Minding the Gate?  

The book, “Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide,” by Henry Jenkins discussed the formation of Knowledge Cultures. One of the most fascinating dimensions of this knowledge culture is the way Jenkins chararacterizes them as “voluntary, temporary and tactical affiliations,” achieved through the deft use of multiple technologies. Jenkins asserts that the technologies are used to engage in a new level of “participatory culture.” As we move into these participatory atmospheres,  I ponder where do we gain thought leadership? Additionally, what is the accompanying social result of these knowledge communities?  

Jenkins cites Pierre Levy who states. “People harness their individual expertise toward shared goals and objectives.” This is a positive, somewhat altruistic view of Knowledge Cultures.  With the advent of the new knowledge community, the traditional social community is breaking down., according to Jenkins.  For example, a recent earthquake left me scouring Facebook to see where the rumblings were felt along the East Coast – not moving outside my office to engage with neighbors and friends to share that common experience.

I am particularly interested in Jenkins’ evaluation of “gated” knowledge communities. In the book, he discusses the online formation of braintrusts – or experts associated with a particular topic.  Jenkins uses a  Survivor Spoiler site ChillOne as an example of an emerging brain trust. ChillOne – as an expert thought leader – brought data and ideas to the “spoiler audience” and thus became a trusted resource.  ChillOne and others like him denote an inevitable return of hierarchy to the knowledge culture.  This restoration of hierarchy is particularly interesting to me because of its relevance to David Manning White’s adaptation of Gatekeeping Theory for the mass media.

In an effort to make sense of this phenomenon, Jenkins cites Peter Walsh who states that the traditional expert paradigm is breaking down by the advent of the more open-ended process of communication. Many would argue that citizen journalism is propelling the collapse of the gatekeeping role for news and information. I believe Jenkins would take this even further and say that citizens have trampled the gate for a whole realm of information gathering and interpretation of reality.