As we enter the informational age, networking, collaboration and the growth of user-led content has changed the role of traditional media consumers. There has been a significant power shift from producers of media content, to a wider community of participants who are able to both consume and generate content (Bruns, p3). These new age, online environment participants are commonly referred to as ‘produsers’.
During the industrial age consumers were mainly “seen as passive and isolated ‘end users’ who literally consume[d], or use[d] up, products until they [were] depleted and need[ed] to be replaced with new and updated versions” (Bruns, p3). On the contrary, today’s produsers are not submissive, but actively participate in a variety of online environments. These online environments can range from “ad hoc networks of participation”, like blogosphere, “to more centralized sites of collaborative work, such as Wikipedia” (Bruns, p1). Produsers can also participate in a range of social networking sites, like Facebook and MySpace. What these networked, participatory environments have in common is their ability to “break down the boundaries between producers and consumers … [thus] enabl[ing] all participants to be users, as well as producers of information and knowledge” (Bruns, 2007).
It is through this ongoing process of produsage, that produsers are able to share information, critique, build on, improve and extend existing content (Bruns, p3). Consequently,
there has been a rapid growth in user-led content and collaborative knowledge. This is so much so that sites like Wikipedia, which is based on collaborative knowledge, threaten major traditional authorities of knowledge, like the Encyclopaedia Britannica (Bruns, p1). Unlike the Encyclopaedia Britannica, Wikipedia’s participants can constantly revise existing content and assist with the development process. Furthermore, Wikipedia “always displays the most recently edited revision of its content”, rather than releasing a monthly or annual issue (which may already be outdated by the time it reaches consumers) (Bruns, p3).
What's more is that produsers can be anyone and their role in the online environment can constantly change. Depending on their level of expertise in any given area, produsers can transform to be leaders, contributors, participants or users of content, depending on the subject (Bruns, p3). For example, in my own blog I am a producer and contributor of information. On the other hand, in a blog about say human movement, I would simply be a user of content and consumer of information, as I have very little to contribute on the subject.
Similarly, the beauty of produsage is that it also allows for the presentation of different perspectives on any one given topic. For instance, a blog about Indigenous Health may contain posts from a government official, a mental health care worker, an Indigenous person, a doctor and a researcher. Each of these posts would present a different view. Consequently someone reading the blog would be better informed and more involved in the subject.
In the future it will be interesting to note how produsage continues to change the way people interact with their media. It is obvious that traditional platforms of knowledge (like paper encyclopaedias) will need to change in order to keep their readership. However, what I think will be most exciting to see is how a more informed population (through collaborative knowledge) will change our society (hopefully for the better).
References
Bruns, Dr Axel. (2007). “Produsage: A Working Definition”, Produsage.org: Definition, Key Principles, Necessary Preconditions. URL: http://produsage.org/produsage (accessed 10 May, 2008).
Bruns, Dr Axel. "Produsage: Towards a Broader Framework for User-Led Content Creation". (http://produsage.org/files/Produsage%20(Creativity%20and%20Cognition%202007).pdf). (pp.1 – 6).
During the industrial age consumers were mainly “seen as passive and isolated ‘end users’ who literally consume[d], or use[d] up, products until they [were] depleted and need[ed] to be replaced with new and updated versions” (Bruns, p3). On the contrary, today’s produsers are not submissive, but actively participate in a variety of online environments. These online environments can range from “ad hoc networks of participation”, like blogosphere, “to more centralized sites of collaborative work, such as Wikipedia” (Bruns, p1). Produsers can also participate in a range of social networking sites, like Facebook and MySpace. What these networked, participatory environments have in common is their ability to “break down the boundaries between producers and consumers … [thus] enabl[ing] all participants to be users, as well as producers of information and knowledge” (Bruns, 2007).
It is through this ongoing process of produsage, that produsers are able to share information, critique, build on, improve and extend existing content (Bruns, p3). Consequently,
there has been a rapid growth in user-led content and collaborative knowledge. This is so much so that sites like Wikipedia, which is based on collaborative knowledge, threaten major traditional authorities of knowledge, like the Encyclopaedia Britannica (Bruns, p1). Unlike the Encyclopaedia Britannica, Wikipedia’s participants can constantly revise existing content and assist with the development process. Furthermore, Wikipedia “always displays the most recently edited revision of its content”, rather than releasing a monthly or annual issue (which may already be outdated by the time it reaches consumers) (Bruns, p3).What's more is that produsers can be anyone and their role in the online environment can constantly change. Depending on their level of expertise in any given area, produsers can transform to be leaders, contributors, participants or users of content, depending on the subject (Bruns, p3). For example, in my own blog I am a producer and contributor of information. On the other hand, in a blog about say human movement, I would simply be a user of content and consumer of information, as I have very little to contribute on the subject.
Similarly, the beauty of produsage is that it also allows for the presentation of different perspectives on any one given topic. For instance, a blog about Indigenous Health may contain posts from a government official, a mental health care worker, an Indigenous person, a doctor and a researcher. Each of these posts would present a different view. Consequently someone reading the blog would be better informed and more involved in the subject.
In the future it will be interesting to note how produsage continues to change the way people interact with their media. It is obvious that traditional platforms of knowledge (like paper encyclopaedias) will need to change in order to keep their readership. However, what I think will be most exciting to see is how a more informed population (through collaborative knowledge) will change our society (hopefully for the better).
References
Bruns, Dr Axel. (2007). “Produsage: A Working Definition”, Produsage.org: Definition, Key Principles, Necessary Preconditions. URL: http://produsage.org/produsage (accessed 10 May, 2008).
Bruns, Dr Axel. "Produsage: Towards a Broader Framework for User-Led Content Creation". (http://produsage.org/files/Produsage%20(Creativity%20and%20Cognition%202007).pdf). (pp.1 – 6).
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