Collective Intelligence in Media and Historical Contexts

Henry Jenkins (2006) in his book Convergence Culture uses multiple studies to make the argument that his definition of convergence is central to how individuals will coexist in popular, political, and civic culture in the near future. Specifically, he focuses on the ideas of media convergence, participatory culture, and collective intelligence. Of interest to me is this third concept, the idea of collective intelligence. I wonder if such communities do not already exist separate of technology.

Each of the studies illustrate how collective intelligence works to enhance the experience associated with media consumption. Jenkins (2006) makes the argument that the "spoiler" culture connected with Survivor is essentially a collective intelligence where individuals all contribute in some small way to solving the puzzle. Individuals will participate by posting clues that they have extracted about the show in order to guess how the coming season of Survivor will play out. Posters establish credibility in these "spoiling" communities through experience and the posting of accurate findings. The community in this case was strong until the emergence of a poster who posted relatively accurate findings without being discredited by the community. Once the game was “spoiled,” much of the community died down because they lost the sense of community success.

In his examination of MIT research of groups who view American Idol together, Jenkins (2006) suggests that collective intelligence works to keep each other up to date on the show, to make fans out of casual viewers, and to bring viewers closer to the show and the affiliate product brands that have ties to the show. Such shows work effectively to bring viewers to the brands sponsoring the show. Of course, I can think of marketing tactics that worked to include or remove brands that sponsors did not want in shows that go back to before reality television, specifically the sitcom Friends.

Jenkins (2006) suggests that The Matrix is a convergent media and one that requires a collective intelligence in order to fully understand the meaning of the story arc. The nuanced, layered content of the franchise requires a group of devoted fans each bringing something to the table in order to learn about everything that is in the story. By sharing knowledge, all members can come to a deeper understanding of the franchise. In this study. Jenkins notes the financial motives behind making The Matrix transmedia, but not the hypocritical impact it could have on the message of the original film. Going from Anti-Hollywood to media franchise is counter intuitive to the first film's message about the dangers of consumer culture (Proffitt, Tchoi, & McAllister, 2007).

In his examination of the Star Wars: Galaxies gaming community, Jenkins (2006) found that collective intelligence helped developers to create a game that fans could better enjoy in game play and in social interaction. Taking his perspective to the next level, Jenkins (2006) suggests that by utilizing the concepts of collective intelligence. We can better understand the politics of our society and hold them accountable. My only question here is whether or not citizens really want to invest that much time or interest in the enterprise of politics. Each of the groups Jenkins examines hold special interests in specialized forms of entertainment media. I can see a group of policy wonks engaging in such a practice, but not society in general.

While I agree that the concept of collective intelligence serves a critical function in each of these cases and that it can further benefit society, I question if collective intelligence is not just a naturally occurring social function. Close-knit communities often come together through neighborhood watches or associations to overcome crime and potential abuses by city officials. Graduate seminars are ideally a collection of students who come together each week and share ideas about the weekly topics to test each other’s perspectives and to expand their understanding of the topics. From a historical perspective, revolutionary elites in the colonial period of the United States came together in a niche community to form ideas about overcoming British policies they disagreed with and eventually formed a government. While Jenkins (2006) makes a great case for the utility of such groupings, I believe that his work could be enhanced by considering the historical foundations for such collective intelligence communities, and how those traditions translate to this technological period.