This final blog entry reflects on principles of produsage through the use of citizen journalism and other open participatory communication channels such as Wikipedia. Produsage has changed the way online communities share and use information. Its limitations must be recognised as produsage can only being used online therefore if the technologies no longer existed there would be the missing link to sharing and networking information.

Produsage is the evolution of the industrial process as consumers no longer want to be the last element of the chain. Online consumers have demanded a more creative, productive and socially beneficial method of interacting with information which is the very reason why the concept of produsage exists and is continuing to grow with popularity at such a rapid rate.

Henry Jenkins (2008) defines convergence as a word that describes technological, social and industrial change that depends on who’s speaking and what they are speaking about. He states that ‘convergence represents a cultural shift as consumers are encouraged to seek out new information and make connections among dispersed media content’. The link betwtween convergence culture and produsage is an interesting battle to discover as technology and the social, cultual can all interlink when analysing it’s theory. I believe that produsage is a perfect example of convergence culture as users are encourged to share, comment, add, edit and improve information on open source software systems. Another interesting example of convergence culture in produsage is to explore the use of one medium such as an online open source software system to create a new medium such as a tangible working product. Bruns (2009) discusses this concept as ‘turning artefacts into products’ and highlights the extent that produsage can aid participating communities in developing tangible solutions for themselves.  Also known as the ‘DIY ‘ (Do it yourself) culture this concept ties in produsage, citizen journalism and the pro-am theories. These DIY communities partitipate in practices (some only usualy produced by professionals) to improve their knowledge or skill regarding a certain topic. For example ‘Trendwatching’ uses the example of a website that allows users to download free and user-friendly software to design objects such as door handles either in metal or plastic and then sends it to a manufacturer to produce the tangible product (Bruns 2009). Williams (2004) highlights that there has been a cultural shift in what consumers are wanting. He states that ‘consumers’ have emphasised human agency rather than economic constraints when explaining their reasons for purchasing DIY products rather than retail products’. This statement highlights the essence of why people are embracing the produage and DIY cultures. Consumers want when using or sharing products or infomation want to feel that they are contributing just as much as they are receiving. I think that people feel more of a sense of control over DIY products and feel good about themselves for contributing to the end product. I think it would be interesting to analyse if the current economic climate has affected or even increased the paticipation in DIY culture as times are getting tougher and people need more bang for their buck.

References:

Bruns, A. 2008. Blogs, Wikipedia, Second Life and Beyond: from production to produsage. Peter Lang Publishing: New York. (pp11-404)

Jenkins, H. 2006.  Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide. NYU Press: New York. (p.133)

Williams, C. 2004. A lifestye choice? Evaluating the motives of do-it-yourself (DIY) consumers: International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management.Bradford Vol. 32(4)270-275