Convergence culture in social networks: netnographic analysis of a Facebook page

Abstract

Convergence culture foresaw a transformation on the relationship established between the media and its audiences. The traditional one-to-many model would be replaced by something more fluid: the audiences would no longer be solely the receptors and interpreters of the messages produced and broadcasted by the media. In Henry Jenkins' convergence culture, the users’ empowerment would force the media to change its traditional role to ensure the continuity of a very lucrative business model. This would also mean that concepts such as participation and interaction would have a renewed vitality. This article, based on a nethnographic exploratory study, confronts these expectations with the actual practices of the official Portuguese Facebook page of Star Wars. All posts published in December 2017, the month when the eightieth episode of the main saga of this transmedia narrative was theatrically released, were analyzed. During this period, the Facebook page acted asa traditional media player: almost all its actions were restricted to publishing posts, contradicting the expectations surrounding the emergence of a more participatory and convergent culture.