HARNESSING SERENDIPITY: A STUDY OF ACCIDENTAL CREATIVE COLLABORATIONS IN TWO ONLINE REMIXING COMMUNITIES

Abstract

In this paper, we will attempt to move beyond the individual case study by undertaking a comparative analysis of two highly successful online remixing communities: ccMixter, an online community devoted to the sharing and remixing of music, and Scratch, an online community focused on enabling young people to create and share interactive games and animations. This paper employs a mixed methods approach towards comparing both remixing communities. We utilized Social Network Analysis (SNA) as a means of characterizing the sharing and remixing activity in both communities. The SNA also functioned as a sampling method to identify a small core of users who were most active in each community. Interviews were then conducted with this set of core members.