YouTube Fame

Participatory culture is good for the internet. Allowing users to submit user-generated content and allowing it to be distributed through a huge medium such as the internet is what Web 2.0 is all about. Why regulate and control what is posted on the web? We have enough rules and regulations in our society now as it is. The web is a true outlet for people who historically have not had their voices heard to finally have the agency to voice their thoughts, opinions, and outlook on the world. While this is not what occurs on the web most of the time via user-generated content, the option is still there. Sure enough, a lot of the videos posted on YouTube are "crap" and are purely used for entertainment, but that doesn't take away from the videos that are posted broadcasting someone with real talent. You have guys like Soulja Boy and Justin Bieber who have reached stardom from successfully marketing themselves via social networks such as MySpace and YouTube. In the end, regulating the internet and hindering user-generated content or a participatory culture would only take away the innovative and creative nature that the internet thrives off of (for the most part). You've got to take the good with the bad as far as "participatory culture" is concerned and to this date, the good has definitely outweighed the bad tremendously.

                                                                                                                              Sincerely, 

                                                                                                                                Suso