Library Thing and Jenkin's Convergence Theory article

Audrey Danek
Internet Studies
Dr. Stanovsky
22 March 2010
I. Introduction

Recently, when reading these assignment instructions, I heard of thing called, literally, “Library Thing.” This idea was stolen from my head without me knowing about it and acknowledged by thousands of other people before I even found out about it! Library Thing is an online social networking site for booklovers. The site allows you to set up a profile, post books you have read or wish to read, write reviews, join group discussions, and discover information about books. It serves as an example of general internet influences. These include how the internet feeds off narrow-interests, rather than mass media and how the internet fosters interpersonal communication. These relationships of media convergence in light of Harry Jenkins “Worship at the Altar of Convergence” are explored.

II. Library Thing & Convergence Theory

In Jenkin’s, “Worship at the Altar of Convergence,” various issues concerning the effects of media convergence are explored. “Convergence is a word that manages to
describe technological, industrial, cultural, and social changes…,” states Jenkins, illustrating the complexity of the concept (2). His article explains the two main ways in which media convergence is affecting our culture. “On the first, a medium is a technology that enables communication; on the second, a medium is a set of associated “protocols” or social and cultural practices that have grown up around that technology” (13). In other words, there are implications both on the relationships concerning the marketing environment, as well as the social environment. Library Thing serves as an example of this idea. The first concept explored will be the social implications, and then we will explore how marketing functions are affected.


Library Thing is a social group with a specific interest. The site thus serves as a representation of both this specific group of people, as well as these sites as a whole. Two main points of Jenkin’s are demonstrated by Library Thing. The first is Jenkin’s description of participatory culture. Participatory culture is the idea that the availability for content publishing on the web to be done by anyone contributes to a less homogenized culture. People are able to express themselves more freely. In Library Thing, this is done by the various chat rooms, reviews, and profile description features. All of these options allow people to express themselves and their opinions of reading and writing. Absent the internet, these expressions would be limited to the people around you. In a subject area such as Library Things, this would be incredibly limiting. The
major benefit of this is described by Jenkin’s as “None of us know everything; each of us knows something; and we can put these pieces together if we pool our resources and combine our skills” (4). This means that society is able to work more efficiently towards cultural advancement because information and information is more available. In the case of Library Thing, people are able to choose the book they would most likely enjoy reading and assist others in making that decision. The margin of error is reduced in a more open atmosphere.
The second point about convergence Library Thing represents is freedom. This is meant by Jenkins to describe the idea that a more diverged media set brings power away from centralized media powers to consumers. Consumers hold the upper hand. For example, Library Thing allows consumers to rate how they liked the book. The publisher could spend enormous amounts of money advertising this book, but they cannot erase the negative comments made against it. Therefore, media conglomerates, such as this publisher, are forced to respond more keenly to consumer’s opinions. “Divergence” of media outlets and “convergence” of integration foster freedom of the individual.
Furthermore, Library Thing changes our relationships with others by creating confidence that there are others who like books, explore concepts posted by people who can thus share a relationship through a specific book, and give the ability to post a discussion board and see what others may say. The site also directly affects face-to-face relationships because people can post and invite others to join a local writing or reading event.


Library Thing is a basic social group that attracts people all over the world who love to read and write. The website offers people with a common interest the unique opportunity to share ideas and seek information based on the communication features provided. This changes the relationship between a user of the site and both their face-to-face and digital relationships. The site also demonstrates how the marketing function of media outlets has changed from a one-sided mode to a responsive, two-sided mode. Consumers have power in finding the best possible option concerning what book to read. They also have the ability to purchase that book in a second. The implications of online social groups, such as Library Thing, are a depletion of the black box fallacy, more powerful consumers, and the efficiency for the best option to be developed.





“Convergence involves both a change in the way media is produced and a change in the way media is consumed,” states Jenkins. Specifically, he is referring to what he refers to as the “black box” fallacy. The black box fallacy describes the idea that the internet has fostered communication channels away from their traditional one-sided mode, to a more cohesive mode, in which the audience equally contributes to the media. Originally, books were distributed by a large publisher, marketed by such, and bought by the reader in a bookstore. This traditional chain of command is skewed with the internet and Library Thing. As mentioned earlier, the consumers have more power and the marketers are forced to respond accordingly. However, another feature of this kind of convergence is demonstrated by the way Library Thing has direct links to web sites which well books, such as Google and Amazon. The user is able to research and explore various books, create a list of the ones they find interesting, and then click directly to a site which sells this book. This process is demonstrative of the ways in which media ownership is spread wider. It also demonstrate the ways in which audiences develop marketing power and content distributed by the media outlets, as well as the consumer, is affected.