produser + user = produsage..

source: wordpress.com

Produsage describes being both the user and producer of information in the online world. I would say we are all producers in one way or another weather it be through blogging, face book and you tube at some stage in our life.  Wikipedia is a prime example of this. The user is able to become the producer and can change the content weather its correct or not.

source: wikipedia.org

Online tutorials are a big one for me, the amount of times I’ve spent seeking to learn a ‘how to’ and have simply found one via You Tube, this ultimately makes me a consumer of produsage.

However I am yet to load a ‘how to’ my self but I am sure in due time I will. 

source : www.squidoo.com

Bruns 2007 describes produsage as  “The collaborative and continuous building and extending of existing content in pursuit of further improvement”

Further discussion on produsage and other theories are discussed during an interesting part 1 and part 2 interview between Henry Jenkins and Axel Bruns in 2008. 

4 key principles to produsage include. 

1. Open Participation, communal evaluation.

The community as a whole if large and varied can contribute more than a closed team of producers.

2. Fluid Heterarchy, Ad Hoc Meritocracy

Producers participate as is appropriate to their personal skills, interests and knowledge’s, which changes as the produsage project proceeds.

3. Unfinished Artefacts, Continuing Process

Content artefacts in produsage projects are continually under development which means they are always unfinished.

4. Common Property, individual rewards

contributors permit community use of their intellectual property, and are rewarded by the status capital

See the full presentation here.

Jenkins view of participatory culture relates hand in hand with produsage. Jenkin’s idea of participatory culture is that citizens and public should not only be consumers but to also produce and contribute also. People are clearly contributing and collaborating through social media and the online world and these contributions are coming from everyday citizens.  

source: www.geekculture.com

Slashdot which was created in 1997 is another example of produsage where users are able to submit and evaluate news stories mainly on subjects related to science and technology, they are a dedicated community based on citizen journalism.   The difference between Wikipedia and Slashdot  is that there is a peer to peer to review system on Slashdot where other users are able to rate the creditability of the content and you are able to see some of the profile of the member that has contributed.

I will leave you with an early example of produsage. 

Weird Al Yankovic famous parody “eat it’ video clip back in 1984 – mashing up Michael Jacksons ‘Beat It’ 

See you next time for my final blog on

 ‘the dark side of social media’ 

Daniela 

Referencing & Further Reading 

• Bruns, A 2007, Produsage: Towards a broader framework for user-led content creation, Proceedings Creativity and Cognition 6, Washington, DC.
• Bruns, A 2010, Exploring the Pro Am Interface between production and produsage. Queensland University of Technology. http://www.slideshare.net/Snurb/exploring-the-proam-interface-between-production-and-produsage
• Jenkins, H 2008, From Production to Produsage: Interview with Axel Bruns (Part One) http://henryjenkins.org/2008/05/interview_with_axel_bruns.html
• Jenkins, H 2008, From Production to Produsage: Interview with Axel Bruns (Part Two) http://henryjenkins.org/2008/05/from_production_to_produsage_i.html
• Slashdot:http://slashdot.org/
• Snurb,2007, Produsage Key Principles. http://produsage.org/node/11