Knowledge Production and Consumption for the Creation of Value in Comic-making in Mexico

^† Passed away before the publication of this article.
¹ CETYS Universidad, Instituto INNSIGNIA, Mexico
² Universitat Politècnica de València, Spain

Abstract

Social networks have become spaces where hopeful entrepreneurs can exchange and promote knowledge. Artists and other creatives have found various ways to use technology to create value, building communities where techniques, technologies, and business dynamics can be shared. In this context, social media management is key to producing and consuming knowledge, with the aim of enhancing visibility, competition, and above all, innovation in art and technique. As a result of these dynamics, comics have enjoyed a resurgence worldwide, thanks to the development of new formats and innovative uses of comics as a means of communication and a line of business for a range of artists and corporations. Nonetheless, in Mexico this sector has encountered challenges in securing its position in the international development of the industry, raising a need to explore business practices in order to generate strategies that may help to bring about a transformation. In this research, a series of interviews was conducted with 13 artists and creators in Mexico to examine how they have assimilated the global dynamics of the industry in terms of social media management, with a particular focus on the production and consumption of knowledge relating to their line of work. One key finding is that Mexican comic-makers typically do use social networks to promote their products in their various formats, but only to a limited extent, which poses challenges for creating tutorials or courses to increase the visibility of their knowledge about the comic craft and the nature of this kind of work.