Produsage

When a person desires or needs a product, purchasing that product labels that person as a consumer. The traditional methods of consumerism, (e.g. fordism) have shifted with the development of media available to the consumer. The idea of the “prosumer” developed by Toffler was a further development in the relationship between the producer and consumer. In this instance the consumer is labeled as a professional, straying away from traditional fordism methods of production and distribution, to the stage of aesthetically developed items to suit the individual. This was the verge of the power and relation change between the producer and consumer as producers were readily available to build and design products based loosely on consumer feedback. However, a new view on the relation between the produser and consumer as described by Dr. Alex Bruns is known as Produsage.

The development of produsage has taken the relationship between producers and consumers to the next level. Consumers now have the ability to develop products to be used with existing products, or as a completely new application all together. Online game development and products such as Second Life are a prime example as consumers of the game are also creating patches, avatars, and accessories to be used by others in line with the initial product. Bruns describes the four key principles of Produsage in his book Blogs, Wikipedia, Second Life, and Beyond: From Production to Produsage, and online at http://produsage.org/node/11. These key principles are open participation and communal evaluation, fluid heteracy, unfinished artefacts/continual process, and common property.

Looking at produsage and the music industry has shown a large number of user driven social networks and sites available to musicians and artists to distribute their work globally. This strays away from traditional music production of artist, music producer, distributor, consumer to a new system that allows the artist to promote, distribute, and collaborate with others through sites provided by either major labels or independent producers. In these social networks, such as last.fm, and stereofame.com, users are encouraged to create songs and labels, simulating a real life music industry experience online among peers of the same stature and interests in place of producers and distributers.

Produsage, although a new term that is not yet widely recognised, is a form of production that a lot of people are participating in without knowing. Blogging, reviewing, writing articles, editing programs, and many more simple web based applications and activities are all considered produsage as long as it can be understood in regards to the key principles of produsage and the model of production.

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