Produser, user, creator, editor, publisher....which is it?!

The world where producers and consumers collide....

               ..."transforming how knowledge gets produced and how culture gets generated at the present moment" (Jenkins 2008). 

Produsage... is exactly this; producer and user combined!  Or defined in a little more detail ..."The collaborative and continuous building and extending of existing content in pursuit of further improvement" (Bruns, cited in Jenkins 2008).
Examples of this is wikipedia, blogs, mash-ups and YouTube clips as well as more alternative avenues that allow users to create their own virtual reality through online characters, interactions and games.

Through my research on this topic, I came across the theory blog and I'd like to share how this particular post referred to produsage..... "when you start contributing and sharing and connecting with the work of those who connect with yours, you're engaging in produsage"(Stewart 2012).  But, beware to not limit produsage to only two-way interaction processes....

• It may be a one-way interaction where you might simply view someone else's contribution to the digital world, such as a YouTube clip to find out how to DIY etc. or looking up wikipedia to find out what something is or means from another's perspective (keep in mind reliability of source...)  

• Or, it may be a way for you to promote your own material/creative flares by posting/sharing a music clip or a created product; many business opportunities...
• A form of interaction and communication, connecting users with others through different mediums of produsage
• Used as a virtual simulation; giving opportunity to create and control your world

Produsage is in line with Henry Jenkins theory of participatory culture, whereby he conveys that the key principles behind participatory culture are "low barriers to participation, strong support for sharing, informal mentorship, members who feel that their contributions matter" (Costanza-Chock, 2012).  Here are some examples...

-YouTube –

online video-sharing website

-Social networking sites –

such as Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, Instagram...these users are content creators and consumers simultaneously

-Wikipedia –

a site where all can add and supply information to others - covers all topics & genres

-ccMixter –

a music site that allows individuals to remix music collaborative style

-Blogs –

that invite others to comment and voice opinions on topics, encourages communication

-All Voices –

allows users to collect and reproduce articles from the web

-LiveJournal, Slashdot and Indymedia –

journalism websites/online communities where all can come and socialise, interact and self-express.  You can provide any form of information through a blog, journal or diary style

-Clickworkers –

a NASA experimental project that users public volunteers

-The Sims, Second Life–

an online simulation video game, where you create and participate in online communities

-Time Magazine –

a magazine that offers ordinary citizens to freely access, communicate and interact their ideas and thoughts

- WordPress -

online sites that provide users with opportunity to create a website or blog

"More than one-half of all teens have created media content, and roughly one-third of teens who use the Internet have shared content they produced" (Jenkins, 2009).

 I have started to participate in produsage through my online studies; ranging from interactions on user-created threads in discussion boards, creating and publishing my own blog through to engaging in research through other forms of 'produsage' such as YouTube.  Through this active participation, I have shared my thoughts and ideas with the entire world!  This is somewhat liberating and at the same time, the participation back from other users such as comments and further discussions fuels me to keep going.  I feel the more that I share, the more I will receive back from others which gives me a bit of a 'warm and fuzzy' feeling; a connected feeling, a sense of belonging.  I have to say, I am little surprised by this, as I was quite the pessimist when it came to online activity!  I viewed online participation as purely a socialising tool and was a strong believer that there were no real benefits or valid reasons of why people should participate in these time wasting activities - I know, know... a little judgemental!  However, I've realised I wasn't that wise in my thoughts!  A large percentage of the world is already heavily involved in this kind of collaboration and online communities; it is not just a minority, nor is it the 'computer geeks'!  This is modernity and the new revolution of producing, consuming and communicating!   

 

Produsage and the future...

Currently, the media, organisations/businesses and as well as individual's are all shifting towards this trend of user-content productions; produsage.  Trendwatching.com describes this shift and its participants as a new generation, 'Generation C'.  This newly appointed generation, dictated by user-led information sharing and producing, is predicted to disintegrate traditional "beliefs, rituals, formal requirements and laws modern societies have held dear"(cited in Bruns 2007b).  This view, sees produsage in the future breaking traditional ties, industries and hierarchy structures.  Burgess (2005, cited in Snurblog 2005) see's produsage as developing the expansion of grassroots or vernacular, yet at the same time possibly creating a greater digital divide between classes. 

My thoughts...

I think produsage is facilitating a far more assessable and democratic world.  Produsage removes traditional barriers, structures, policies, rituals, rules and regulations - but why does this have to be a bad thing?  I think that encouraging users to participate and collaborate as a producer, user and consumer is possibly just what our world filled with inequality, corruption and hegemony control needs. 

 

There seems to be a pattern emerging with the digital world; wikileaks, produsage, mobile devices, and digital activism are all working towards the same goal; removing power from large corporations, governments and other authorities and instead creating transparency and accountability; placing more power with the public. 

 

 

References

 

Bruns, A., 2005. Some Exploratory Notes on Produsers and Produsage. [Online]
Available at: http://snurb.info/index.php?q=node/329
[Accessed 31 January 2014].

Bruns, A., 2007. From Production to Produsage: Research into User-Led Content Creation. [Online]
Available at: http://produsage.org/node/11
[Accessed 31 January 2014].

Bruns, A., 2007. Produsage: Towards a Broader Framework for User-Led Content Creation. Media & Communication Creative Industries Faculty, pp. 99-105.

Costanza-Chock, S., 2012. Henry Jenkins: Participatory culture, politics, and learning. [Online]
Available at: http://civic.mit.edu/blog/schock/henry-jenkins-participatory-culture-politics-and-learning
[Accessed 30 January 2014].

 

Jenkins, H., 2008. Confessions of an Aca-Fan - The Official Weblog of Henry Jenkins. [Online]
Available at: http://henryjenkins.org/2008/05/interview_with_axel_bruns.html
[Accessed 31 January 2014].

Jenkins, H., 2009. In: Confronting the Challenges of Participatory Culture. Cambridge, Massachusetts(London): The MIT Press.

Stewart, B., 2012. The theory blog. [Online]
Available at: http://theory.cribchronicles.com/2012/07/03/what-produsage-is-and-why-it-matters/
[Accessed 15 January 2014].