Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Participatory Culture

Three years ago I was introduced to a show called Sex and the City. Once I got passed the graphic sex scenes and coarse language I began falling in love with the show. Attempting to avoid sounding crazy: it is an amazingly written show taking place in New York City about four, very realistic characters (Carrie, Samantha, Miranda and Charlotte) that all have different personalities. I started watching the episodes on TBS in their later seasons and was always curious about what the show was like in the earlier years. This is when I began purchasing the seasons DVD. Last Christmas I finally completed my series so I can enjoy my favourite show whenever I want.

Over the years I have also purchased Sex and the City accessories, trivia games, books, etc. This was all fun but very individual; I wanted to converse with people about Sex and the City. It was not enough to simply enjoy all of its greatness alone. When I made my Facebook last January and started getting the hang of things I realized I could create Facebook Groups. These are groups that anyone on Facebook can join to talk about whatever they like. There are Facebook groups about practically everything from Favourite Hockey teams to Celebrity Fan Groups to your preferred position when sleeping!

I decided to create a Sex and the City Facebook group entitled Addicted to Sex and the City. Within days, hundreds of people had joined my group. It appeared I was not the only one who felt like chatting. A month later I hit 1,500 members and am now at 5,460. This Facebook group was perhaps the most rewarding experience I’d participated in – including the merchandise I had purchased throughout the years. Creative discussions formed like “Did you catch that mistake?” “Finish this line...” and “A Baker’s Dozen” games. Hundreds of comments and replies were filling the discussion board. I looked forward to logging onto Facebook every night purely for this group and even now I often get e-mails from fashion and make-up companies, or author’s of books related to Sex and the City that ask me to promote their products on my popular group site. I often agree to do my best in helping them out, after all: what would Carrie Bradshaw do?

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