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Media Ecologies 77selected and delimited according to different criteria, some based on location,others based on online and institutional sites, and others based oninterest-based groups. We designed our research to understand the environmental,socioeconomic, and infrastructural dimensions of media use.By sampling in these diverse ways, we have been able to grasp at least someof the variegated ecological factors that structure new media participation.We have suggested that the conceptual construct of genres of participationis one way of extrapolating from this material, which reflects the patternsof engagement of the young people we interviewed. These genres of participation,which are not reductive, retain the ecological context and beginto characterize how different forms of engagement and participation aredefined in relation and in opposition to one another. Although our discussiondoes not focus on issues of the digital divide or the participation gap,we have worked to illustrate the kinds of resources that need to be presentin youth’s environments for them to participate in certain genres ofpractice.In the following chapters, we elaborate upon this ecological frame andthe genres of participation we introduce here by delving into specific youthpractices. Throughout our descriptions, we use the broad genre distinctionbetween interest- and friendship-driven genres of participation and thespecific characteristics of hanging out, messing around, and geeking out,as points of orientation to bring the reader back to the ecological framewe outline here. We delve into some of the specific practices that make upthe media ecologies of the young people who participated in our study.Although the subsequent chapters look at specific media practices, ourinvestigation situates these practices within the diverse contexts of youngpeople’s lives—homes and neighborhoods, learning institutions, networkedsites and spaces, and interest-based groups. We also use the broaddistinction between interest-driven and friendship-driven genres of participationas well as the specific characteristics of hanging out, messingaround, and geeking out as frames for understanding these practices withina larger media ecology. While individual chapters necessarily focus onspecific populations and practices, we hope that when taken as a wholethey allow us to retain a sense of context and relationality that has characterizedthe overall collaborative endeavor of analyzing and writing acrossa range of case studies, using multiple methods and disciplinary approaches.