Livingstone (2004) proposes that most discussions of new media literacy are characterised by historically unresolved tensions between 'critical' or 'enlightenment' views of literacy - polarised philosophical positions that see literacy as a normative and exclusionary construction on the one hand (the 'critical' view); or as an aid to progress and equality that we should aim to extend to all people on the other (the 'enlightenment' view). In this paper, I begin from a position that critically evaluates and balances these two available approaches. Drawing on cultural and media studies perspectives and methodological concerns, the paper historicises and analyses the emerging patterns of cultural competencies and cultural value that work to construct new media literacy for cultural participation in the Flickr photosharing network