You know a trend has become legitimate when an academic organization is formed around it. The Society for New Communications Research has been formed to “be the leading think tank for the advanced study of new communications tools, technologies and emerging modes of communication, i.e. blogs, wikis, RSS, podcasts, collaborative tools and the growing phenomena of participatory communications and their effect on traditional media, marketing, public relations and advertising, as well as their broader impact on business, politics, entertainment, culture, education, religion and society.”
I like the term “participatory communication,” though I find it a little amusing since — aren’t most communications participatory? I’ve also heard the term “online participatory communication,” covering all phenomena listed above and also including social and business online networking.