The majority of my childhood I spent in the opera house. My dad was the conductor of the chorus for Opera Hamilton ever since I can remember, and whenever he had a rehearsal or performance, there was no other place I would rather be than sitting in the rows of red theatre chairs listening admiringly to the melodies emanating from the stage. At those times when I would placidly listen for hours on end, there was no question as to whether or not I was an audience member. There is a clearly defined seated area for the audience, characterized by the dim in lights and the organization of the seating area, and divided by the curtain and orchestra pit, an elevated stage for the performers. I remained traditional in my involvement as an audience well into my teenage years up until my parents moved to the East Coast. Without the constant involvement in classical performances, I began to turn towards different kinds of entertainment (do you know how expensive it is to go see an Opera??).
Now of course I had watched television before this, but it was only when I had extra time, then I began to make the time. I developed a greater knowledge of characters, and progressed into developing ritualized viewing habits. I would plan meetings with friends based on our mutually enjoyed television show, and we would watch together. Now I am not all that different from the majority of the population within my demographic, football and award show parties and have been a tradition for decades, but for me it didn't stop there.
Most recently I progressed into next level of audience involvement - the interactive digital audience. Now before you jump to conclusions, of course it wasn't on purpose, well it was, but I did it for the exposure! This past September was the finale of one of my favourite shows, Big Brother. On this show in particular, after exciting or dramatic moments of the show, a banner across the bottom of the fame will display tweets from viewers, and, duh, I wanted to have my tweet shown on TV ( I'm pretty sure it would make me famous?) So off I went and participated in the world of the virtual audience:
Now of course I had watched television before this, but it was only when I had extra time, then I began to make the time. I developed a greater knowledge of characters, and progressed into developing ritualized viewing habits. I would plan meetings with friends based on our mutually enjoyed television show, and we would watch together. Now I am not all that different from the majority of the population within my demographic, football and award show parties and have been a tradition for decades, but for me it didn't stop there.
Most recently I progressed into next level of audience involvement - the interactive digital audience. Now before you jump to conclusions, of course it wasn't on purpose, well it was, but I did it for the exposure! This past September was the finale of one of my favourite shows, Big Brother. On this show in particular, after exciting or dramatic moments of the show, a banner across the bottom of the fame will display tweets from viewers, and, duh, I wanted to have my tweet shown on TV ( I'm pretty sure it would make me famous?) So off I went and participated in the world of the virtual audience:
Now this tweet was sent after my favourite contestant, Steve, won. Needless to say my tweet didn't make it to the television screen, but there's something to be said on the digitization of the audience. The capabilities of our technologies allows for a more interactive audience than ever. Audiences are increasingly able to autonomously chose their media programming now, which allows for the development of very specific subcultures to form more freely and easily. This capability is made even more possible through the convergence of our media content and viewing technologies. I can watch Big Brother on my computer, while reading the hilarious comments on the show through Twitter on my phone, at the same time as browsing the the Big Brother merchandise in another tab.
The level of saturation audiences are easily able to attain provides the perfect recipe for strongly opinionated audience members. This power that modern audiences posses is not limited to their accessibility, but extends to the producers of media content. User-generated content has become more and more popular. The AMA's feature many 'favourite' awards that are solely based on audience votes, and shows like The Voice, which contain a strong audience component, remain in the top charts for viewers.
The participatory culture we live in provides a privilege of choice. More and more audiences are proving the control they have over the content that they consume, and the way in which content is produced.
The level of saturation audiences are easily able to attain provides the perfect recipe for strongly opinionated audience members. This power that modern audiences posses is not limited to their accessibility, but extends to the producers of media content. User-generated content has become more and more popular. The AMA's feature many 'favourite' awards that are solely based on audience votes, and shows like The Voice, which contain a strong audience component, remain in the top charts for viewers.
The participatory culture we live in provides a privilege of choice. More and more audiences are proving the control they have over the content that they consume, and the way in which content is produced.