Dinosaurs and butterflies — media practice research in new media ecologies

AbstractThe changes in traditional patterns of media production and consumption brought about by digital technologies in their networked form pose challenges to both practitioners and theorists. As the practices of mass media dissolve into the processes of the Web many of our assumptions are being questioned. In this article, I outline the debate around a call for a 'Media Studies 2.0' that takes its parallel from the idea of a Web 2.0. Using Chris Anderson's (2006) ideas about 'The Long Tail', I argue that whilst that lower barriers to entry might be experienced as a threat to traditional media 'gatekeepers', media practice researchers should see the new ecologies of media as an unprecedented opportunity for creating our own independent networks of research-based production and distribution.Keywords: practice-as-researchecologyWeb.20Media Studies 2.0the long tail