We -- the users turned creators and distributors of content -- are TIME's Person of the Year 2006, and AdAge's Advertising Agency of the Year 2007. We form a new Generation C. We have MySpace, YouTube, and OurMedia; we run social software, and drive the development of Web 2.0. But beyond the hype, what's really going on? In this groundbreaking exploration of our developing participatory online culture, Axel Bruns establishes the core principles which drive the rise of collaborative content creation in environments, from open source through blogs and Wikipedia to Second Life. This book shows that what's emerging here is no longer just a new form of content production, but a new process for the continuous creation and extension of knowledge and art by collaborative communities: produsage. The implications of the gradual shift from production to produsage are profound, and will affect the very core of our culture, economy, society, and democracy.

In 1940, Hans Augusto Rey and Margret Rey built two bikes, packed what they could, and fled wartime Paris. Among the possessions they escaped with was a manuscript that would later become one of the most celebrated books in children's literature-Curious George. Since his debut in 1941, the mischievous icon has only grown in popularity. After being captured in Africa by the Man in the Yellow Hat and taken to live in the big city's zoo, Curious George became a symbol of curiosity, adventure, and exploration. In Curious about George: Curious George, Cultural Icons, Colonialism, and US Exceptionalism, author Rae Lynn Schwartz-DuPre argues that the beloved character also performs within a narrative of racism, colonialism, and heroism. Using theories of colonial and rhetorical studies to explain why cultural icons like Curious George are able to avoid criticism, Schwartz-DuPre investigates the ways these characters operate as capacious figures, embodying and circulating the narratives that construct them, and effectively argues that discourses about George provide a rich training ground for children to learn US citizenship and become innocent supporters of colonial American exceptionalism. By drawing on postcolonial theory, children's criticisms, science and technology studies, and nostalgia, Schwartz-DuPre's critical reading explains the dismissal of the monkey's 1941 abduction from Africa and enslavement in the US, described in the first book, by illuminating two powerful roles he currently holds: essential STEM ambassador at a time when science and technology is central to global competitiveness and as a World War II refugee who offers a "deficient" version of the Holocaust while performing model US immigrant. Curious George's twin heroic roles highlight racist science and an Americanized Holocaust narrative. By situating George as a representation of enslaved Africans and Holocaust refugees, Curious about George illuminates the danger of contemporary zero-sum identity politics, the colonization of marginalized identities, and racist knowledge production. Importantly, it demonstrates the ways in which popular culture can be harnessed both to promote colonial benevolence and to present possibilities for resistance.

The Natural Speaker is a friendly step-by-step guide to public speaking that explores the fundamental skills necessary to present a natural and rewarding speech to any audience. By providing an overview of speech construction, practice, and delivery, this book is designed to enhance and improve upon students' natural strengths. Featuring a warm and humorous writing style, The Natural Speaker illustrates the concepts and skills required for enjoyable public speaking, and Randy Fujishin invites readers to view speaking as a life-long journey. This tenth edition features a new chapter on speaking in online contexts, including leading or participating in online meetings, using digital presentation tools, and guidelines for effective online PowerPoint presentations, as well as additional focus on intercultural considerations and new Internet student activities at the end of each chapter. This book serves as an accessible core textbook for Public Speaking and Introduction to Communication courses and also provides guidance for individual readers and public speaking workshops. Online resources include an instructor's manual with sample test questions and exercises.

The Natural Speaker is a friendly step-by-step guide to public speaking that explores the fundamental skills necessary to present a natural and rewarding speech to any audience. By providing an overview of speech construction, practice, and delivery, this book is designed to enhance and improve upon students' natural strengths. Featuring a warm and humorous writing style, The Natural Speaker illustrates the concepts and skills required for enjoyable public speaking, and Randy Fujishin invites readers to view speaking as a life-long journey. This tenth edition features a new chapter on speaking in online contexts, including leading or participating in online meetings, using digital presentation tools, and guidelines for effective online PowerPoint presentations, as well as additional focus on intercultural considerations and new Internet student activities at the end of each chapter. This book serves as an accessible core textbook for Public Speaking and Introduction to Communication courses and also provides guidance for individual readers and public speaking workshops. Online resources include an instructor's manual with sample test questions and exercises.

Be memorable.

Whether you like it or loathe it, public speaking is something many of us have to do. Be it presentations to colleagues or speeches to a room full of near strangers, we all want to shine...or at least get through it with our dignity intact. Luckily Philip Collins, former Chief Speech Writer to Tony Blair, knows exactly what's needed to give a storming speech.

The secret, according to Philip, is content. Too many of us focus on "how" we're presenting, and don't spend enough time thinking about "what" we're presenting. The secret to memorable, polished speeches is to think more about the material you're sharing - to pay attention to detail and choose your works carefully. Speech writing is and art - and art we can all learn.

When the content's right, the confidence will follow.

In "The Art of Speeches and Presentations" Philip Collins provides you with a concise set of tools, preparing you for any speaking occasion. Ranging from the ancient history of rhetoric to what makes Barack Obama such a good speaker, it's packed with practical examples and tips to teach you the craft of speaking well and making people remember what to say.

"Does Phil Collins know what he is talking about? Here's the answer - he isn't just good, he is the best. It's as simple as that. I spent years writing speeches for major politicians and I now speak publicly myself all the time, and yet there is so much that I can pick up from him and anyone who re4ads this book will too."--Daniel Finkelstein, Executive Editor, "The Times "and former speech writer to William Hague

This book studies the art of public speaking as oration instead of just ornamentation. It repositions public speaking as a fundamental business leadership act and a solution-enabling and problem-solving communication approach. Drawing on in-depth case studies, it considers various situations that a managerial leader encounters and delivers speech solutions as strategic manoeuvres for attaining desired targets. The volume: Deals with public speaking exclusively from a business perspective; Produces a workable manual of managerial public speaking that introduces the concept of oration as Or-Action (oratory that leads to desired action); Presents a variegated analysis of speech texts from history, politics, fiction, social media, film industry, platform content, and business-product presentations; Customises speeches into unique speech clusters where readers can readily find the type of speech texts they require for their own specific content development. The first of its kind, this book will be a key text for entrepreneurs, corporate managers, academic practitioners, and executives. It will also be of interest to students and researchers of behavioural economics, rhetoric, strategy, communication studies, business communication, fiction theory, generation studies, and virtual reality studies.

This book studies the art of public speaking as oration instead of just ornamentation. It repositions public speaking as a fundamental business leadership act and a solution-enabling and problem-solving communication approach. Drawing on in-depth case studies, it considers various situations that a managerial leader encounters and delivers speech solutions as strategic manoeuvres for attaining desired targets. The volume: Deals with public speaking exclusively from a business perspective; Produces a workable manual of managerial public speaking that introduces the concept of oration as Or-Action (oratory that leads to desired action); Presents a variegated analysis of speech texts from history, politics, fiction, social media, film industry, platform content, and business-product presentations; Customises speeches into unique speech clusters where readers can readily find the type of speech texts they require for their own specific content development. The first of its kind, this book will be a key text for entrepreneurs, corporate managers, academic practitioners, and executives. It will also be of interest to students and researchers of behavioural economics, rhetoric, strategy, communication studies, business communication, fiction theory, generation studies, and virtual reality studies.

The business models of traditional media are experiencing a profound crisis. One of the core issues of this crisis is the increasing breakdown of the value chain model - a model based on the numbers of readers, viewers, and users which the mass media can "sell" in exchange for advertising revenue. These formerly stable models of the media value chain are now in perpetual flux, requiring adaptation to the rapid changes in technology and the volatility of user preferences. Can media companies cope with these new circumstances and at the same time fulfill their traditional roles? This volume addresses this question, and others, to explore scenarios, phenomena, and developments which point to new configurations arising from new media business models, innovative ways in which media practitioners engage their audiences, intercontinental media phenomena, user-generated content, and the general disconnect between print and online media paradigms. Contributors point to a way out of the general bewilderment, providing answers to frequently asked questions, and ideas for new guidelines and solutions.

The business models of traditional media are experiencing a profound crisis. One of the core issues of this crisis is the increasing breakdown of the value chain model - a model based on the numbers of readers, viewers, and users which the mass media can "sell" in exchange for advertising revenue. These formerly stable models of the media value chain are now in perpetual flux, requiring adaptation to the rapid changes in technology and the volatility of user preferences. Can media companies cope with these new circumstances and at the same time fulfill their traditional roles? This volume addresses this question, and others, to explore scenarios, phenomena, and developments which point to new configurations arising from new media business models, innovative ways in which media practitioners engage their audiences, intercontinental media phenomena, user-generated content, and the general disconnect between print and online media paradigms. Contributors point to a way out of the general bewilderment, providing answers to frequently asked questions, and ideas for new guidelines and solutions.

This book comprises a range of general discussions on tradition and innovation in the methodology used in discourse studies (Pragmatics, Discourse Analysis, Argumentation Theory, Rhetoric, Philosophy) and a number of empirical applications of such methodologies in the analysis of actual instances of language use in the public sphere - in particular, discourses arising in the context of the debate on the presence of religious symbols in public places.

The Olympic torch relay held before the 2008 Games was the moment when East met West on the media stage. This book analyses the torch relay and its representation, offering a discursive construction of Olympic ideology by and through the media in both East and West. The author argues that the discourse used by the media in different social contexts reflected the diversity of ideologies and cultural values with which the Olympic flame was imbued. A corpus-based Discourse-Historical Approach in Critical Discourse Analysis (DHA-CDA) is applied to media discourse in the United Kingdom and in China to examine the complexity, contradiction and conflicts in linguistic interpretations of Olympic ideology. Corpora drawn from the China Daily, BBC News and The Guardian are described, interpreted in their linguistic contexts, and then explained in terms of the broader historical and socio-political contexts surrounding the dynamic life of the Olympic torch relay. This unique study sheds light on the significance of the Olympic Games for East-West media discourse and analysis.

bell hooks' writings have been touchstones for major debates in the "culture wars", fostering insight into many central questions in communication studies. Her work is vital to students and scholars who explore the ways in which media shape our sense of our selves, our roles, and those with whom we interact. This book provides readers with a measured, contextualized introduction to how hooks' writings on media and culture enhance our understanding of key concepts in communication. hooks' insistence on focusing our attention on the workings of power and the impact of history and her willingness to explore connections between individual and group experiences have produced provocative, fruitful conjectures about media and culture.

This book outlines a coherent genre history of the personal weblog from the perspective of media linguistics. An analysis of a diachronic corpus (1997-2012) suggests distinct phases in the history of the genre. In addition to media linguistics, the author draws on methods from textual and corpus linguistics as well as the social sciences. He traces the personal weblog's various relations to different on- and offline genres and describes the blog communication form as well as the communicative situation, structural features and several posting genres characteristic of personal weblogs. The findings are embedded into theoretical considerations on genre change in general as well as stability and change of web-based genres in particular.

Black Women in Reality Television Docusoaps explores representations of Black women in one of the most powerful, popular forms of reality television - the docusoap. Viewers, critics, and researchers have taken issue with what they consider to be unflattering, one-dimensional representations. This book discusses images of Black women in reality television during the 2011 viewing year, when much criticism arose. These findings provide a context for a more recent examination of reality television portrayals during 2014, following many reality stars' promises to offer new representations. The authors discuss the types of images shown, potential readings of such portrayals, and the implication of these reality television docusoap presentations. The book will be useful for courses examining topics such as popular culture; mass media and society; women's studies; race and media; sex and gender; media studies; African American issues in mass communication; and gender, race and representation, as well as other graduate-level classes.

bell hooks' writings have been touchstones for major debates in the "culture wars", fostering insight into many central questions in communication studies. Her work is vital to students and scholars who explore the ways in which media shape our sense of our selves, our roles, and those with whom we interact. This book provides readers with a measured, contextualized introduction to how hooks' writings on media and culture enhance our understanding of key concepts in communication. hooks' insistence on focusing our attention on the workings of power and the impact of history and her willingness to explore connections between individual and group experiences have produced provocative, fruitful conjectures about media and culture.

Storytelling is an art, as well as a skill. It allows the listener to take an idea and shape it into something that is relatable on a personal level. In The Art of Storytelling: Telling Truths Through Telling Stories, Amy E. Spaulding enables the reader to learn how to develop this skill, while also discovering the tradition of storytelling. Spaulding covers a wide array of important storytelling elements, from advice on choosing, learning, and presenting the stories to discussions on the importance of storytelling through human history and its continued significance today. This book includes an annotated list of stories, as well as a bibliography of collections and a brief list of recommendations for online sources. Designed for anyone who wants to develop the skill of telling stories, The Art of Storytelling is a resource for drama students, teachers, librarians, and for those learning on their own without a formal class setting.

The contributions of this volume approach the genres of employee, CEO and organizational communication from different angles. They analyze how the author's position in the company influences the construction of these genres, what content and linguistic style characterize them, and how the discourse of these genres is related to other resources. They look at linguistic and rhetorical strategies in a range of communicative settings: email correspondence among (male versus female) co-workers, collaborative writing of formats in the workplace, leadership messaging by the CEO, financial disclosures for (non-)financial audiences and expressions of the corporate philosophy. Two methodologies in particular are prominent in the genre-based chapters: corpus analyses and case studies.

Drawing on her own successful experience and presenting advice from top female executives, Linda D. Swink guides women through each step of preparing for a speech and how to deliver it by using visual aids, voice control, and humor, among other techniques. Information is provided for both novice and expert speakers, so every woman will learn something new. This valuable guide will empower any woman who wants her words to be taken seriously and reach new levels of success.

Old New Media examines how the introduction of a new medium threatens those accustomed to the old media environment. Taking a media ecology perspective to examine the historical transitions from oral to literate, print, electronic and virtual media environments, the book includes theoretical chapters and case studies in five areas: media ecology; critical media theory; freedom of expression; Eastern thought; and the body and the media environment. The book argues against the "newness" of each new medium, which is often associated with unprecedented technological change, stating that the patterns of change identified with the most recent smartphone or computer are related to the patterns of change in human perception and social affairs that accompany the electronic media environment. It cautions against condemning the new medium with technological horror as the cause of all of our problems or celebrating it as the technological sublime that will cure all our social ills. If we are aware that media are extensions of the human, we can overcome the alienation and shock they cause, and be sensitive to the fluid boundaries between the human and the technological. The book ends by discussing how new media environments disrupt the balance in our lives and suggests strategies to help restore that balance.

The Internet's explosive growth over the past decade is nowhere more visible than in Asia. Fueled by an expanding middle class, thousands of people connect to the Internet for the first time each day to explore and discuss issues that are relevant to them and their lives. This book provides an in-depth look at the impact of social media on political engagement among young citizens in this rapidly changing region of the world. Leading media scholars from nine Asian nations focus on three main questions: How frequently do Asians use social media to access and discuss political information? Does the use of social media increase political participation? What political, social and cultural factors influence the impact of social media on political engagement in each nation? To answer these questions, contributors first analyze the current state of social media in their nations and then present the findings of a cross-national survey on social media use that was conducted with over 3,500 Asian respondents. By employing a comparative approach, they analyze how social media function and interact with the cultural and political systems in each country - and how they might affect political engagement among individual citizens.

The book proposes a multi-perspective analytical model for the understanding of corporate identity meanings embedded in historical discourse for the web. The suggested theoretical framework conflates methodological perspectives derived from Discourse Analysis, Multimodality and Cognitive Linguistics. The contribution of Cognitive Linguistics to the proposed analysis is based on two main assumptions. First, the lack of principled distinction between semantics and pragmatics, whereby meaning is a function of the activation of conceptual knowledge structures in context. Second - and this is crucial for hypertext analysis - language, as the outcome of general properties of cognition, is closely related to visual perception. The originality of this approach to web discourse analysis resides in the deployment of tools considering the cross-modal integration of different resource systems. It also offers interpretive keys for the understanding of mechanisms underlying the formatting of the message as a multimodal construct. The empirical analyses presented in the book illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed methodological approach.