New Current TV show proves interactive media increasing

Last week, Current TV did something new, not just for itself, but for the medium as a whole.

It debuted Bar Karma, a weekly science fiction show, developed by Sims creator Will Wright, where audience members submit story ideas online, and the production team turns those ideas into episodes.

The show’s production format is unique. Yes, the production team provides the raw materials (actors, crew, etc.), but it’s the show’s audience that drives the show’s plot. In fact, the creators refer to it as “community-developed television”

Current TV is relatively new, less than a decade old. It has a few in-house shows, but the focus is on viewer-created content.

Viewers film their own material and submit it, which is then aired and commented on by the audience.

Bar Karma and Current also point to the growing trend of interactive media.

The last decade has seen a massive empowering of communication, as people have found new ways to voice their opinions.

The rise of Web 2.0, characterized in part by networking and greater participation, made Internet interaction even more of a two-way path.

So what makes media interactive?

In some cases, like Bar Karma, it’s literally having the audience craft the stories for the series.

In other cases, crowdsourcing, turning to an outside group for feedback, is also used.

Or it could be sites like Wikipedia, where anyone is able to contribute and the goal is to create a collective organization working for free-for-the-masses information.

The main idea in interactive media is that the audience has a voice, whether through in-house comments or produced responses to the media.

But the change shows more than a tech-based change, it shows a cultural one.

Yes, technology has changed the game, but it’s only been the facilitator for communication.

The interactions formed by this communication has let people find others of similar interests and allowed them to team up and produce their own media.

Take for example blogs, web series, wikis, website commenting, zines, student films and other non-studio media.

These are all usually created by individuals, not conglomerates or movers and shakers. The people themselves are becoming the movers and shakers.

This growth stems from a couple of different cultural movements.

It grew out of early computing, where people found themselves at the forefront of innovation.

Because the field was so new, there were no experts or precedents, and anyone could come up with something new.

It was this anything-goes approach that spurred the social media of today, which is one of the many facets of interactive media.

It also came out of the DIY-subculture that started in the 1970s and really boomed in the 1990s.

People want to create content, and now, thanks to new technology, closer connections and a willingness to hear other opinions, they can.

And now it’s creeping up on the mainstream entertainment scene.

Aside from reality shows having audience members vote in to decide winners, many shows offer online polls, have message forums for viewer feedback and web series like the upcoming LoveMakers have video games, tips for fans and planned parties featuring the actors in character.

The question then is clear: Will these shows be the future of media?

More than likely, no. There are some people who are skilled not only at coming up with ideas, but also at working with studios, and these people will continue to dominate the media production world.

So online media, fan feedback and other forms of interactive media will stay on the backburner, no matter how empowered people become in sharing their views.

But it will continue to grow, and through that, things will slowly change. There will be a large subculture right beneath the surface for people to use.

People are active in the entertainment world in ways they have never been before.

Industry outsiders now have a voice, and people are listening.

If anything, it’s time for people to start submitting story ideas for a Bar Karma episode.

Nicholas Slayton is a sophomore majoring in print and digital journalism. His column, “Age of the Geek,” runs Fridays.