I think in order to grasp “participatory art”, its meaning and its use, you have to look at its parts separately. First look at art. What does it mean for something to be art or someone to be an artist? Art, simply put, is expression and when someone expresses themselves and their thoughts they are an artist. An artist in turn has a certain level of self satisfaction when they create something original.(Original meaning new, not necessarily all their own). No matter the message in the art, there is always going to be that sense of satisfaction; that you made something and it worked, whether that something is a good movie or good pancakes (I made bangin pancakes this morning and I was satisfied).
Next take a look at participation. Very simply, Participation as said in the text, is activation, authorship, and community.
So, connecting the two, “participatory art” must contain activation, authorship, community, and a sense of satisfaction. Take YouTube for example. Each individual post on YouTube may not necessarily be “participatory art” the whole; like “What, What, In the Butt,” it may only be participation, but when you collect each individual post into a community, as in YouTube, that is when it becomes art. It is the satisfaction of the whole, every individual helping to create a medium in which individuals can express themselves. Sort of like this blog.