Collective intelligence, Web 2.0 and the performing arts

Web 2.0 (also refered to as Participatory and Social Web) is the label given to a variety of platforms that allow for user contribution, such as Facebook or Wikipedia. 'A key element of the technology is that it allows people to create, share, collaborate & communicate'(1). Using the combined theories of Dewey, Lewin and Kolb that learning happens in a cyclical fashion using reflection on experiences, Web 2.0 has opened up the possibility of gaining knowledge past your own experience, through active discussion with others about theirs. This is known as Collective Intelligence.

Collective intelligence references a team's ability to solve a wide variety of tasks. It is the 'enhanced capacity that is created when people work together, often with the help of technology, to mobilise a wider range of information, ideas and insights'(2).

So how does this affect my experiences as an actor? Well to begin with I find myself on a distance learning specialisation course that allows me to interact with others in my profession from a variety of places around the world. We use Skype to engage in group discussions and blogs such as this to develop ideas from one another. I am able to use sources such as YouTube or Facebook to view performances of others, to give feedback on those performances and to see the feedback others have provided, as well as uploading pieces of my own work (should I wish to) in order to obtain constructive comments from those more learned. I am also able to use these platforms to keep connected and informed in an industry that is ever changing. Sites with forums such as BroadwayWorld, TheatreBoard, Musicals.net and many others allow users within the performing arts communities worldwide to ask questions and receive a collaboration of answers from strangers on everything from which songs to take to an audition to which actress made the best Roxie Hart.

Web 2.0 also allows for networking across the industry with people you wouldn't necessarily cross paths with, and it's well known that networking is the key to success within the performing arts.

As Jarod Kintz wrote, 'It's not who you know that matters - it's who knows you that's important.'(3)



(1) Thompson H. (2008). Wikis, Blogs & Web 2.0 Technology. The University of Melbourne. p1.

(2) Berditchevskaia, A & Baeck, P. (2020). The Future of Minds and Machines: How artificial intelligence can enhance collective intelligence (3: What is collective intelligence?) . Available: https://www.nesta.org.uk/report/future-minds-and-machines/3-what-collective-intelligence/. Last accessed 16/02/2021.

(3) Kintz, J (2011). This Book Is Not For Sale. online.