Content Communities

Content communities consist of online social media platforms that allow users to share multimedia materials including user-produced materials. This entry first introduces the origins of content communities before discussing what they are, who uses them, and their range of uses.

[Page 386]The culture and mass media industries are changing due to mutations of three different natures: technological, narrative, and participatory. The advent of the Internet and social media platforms has allowed content to be distributed on a global basis by both institutions and individual users. Production teams use technology—particularly online media—to create and share content that tells a narrative across different platforms and to enhance the appeal and immersiveness of narrative content. Audience members are becoming increasingly engaged, and their creative abilities have been empowered through ...