Creation 2.0
Thursday, October 15, 2009 by Anonymous
Jose van Dijck painted a rather grim picture of the prosumer in the Web 2.0 age. He was insistant on citing reasons why Time Magazine's person of the year title awarded to 'You' was too grand a honour for the real prosumer. He listed the corporate control being exerted by corporate entites like Google, who now have power to pull soundtracks or whole videos from a UGC site like Youtube.
He also offered the rule of 100. If 100 used the web only one would create something, 10 would "interact" with it, and 89 would passively view it, not unlike the proverbial couch potato.
I would like to question firstly, the 100 rule itself. This rule is not as steadfast as van Dijck paints it. Secondly, why is the 100 rule not celebrated? This is a number far higher than what was achieved before and worthy of celebration, not ciriticism!
Before the internet, before user friendly 'prosumer' technology, the media operated one way. It's true that the public had a say, and I am not quoting the Hyperdermic Needle theory in the least, but it is incontestible fact that those with the technology produced. The rest consumed. Considering the Consolidation among the big compaines, (mergers like AOL Time Warner come to mind) that's a very small number of people producing for the rest. Nowadays, 1 in 100 is a huge leap forward. What's better still is that this 1 in 100 is not a stable figure. van Dijck himself said it was too early to tell where the new technology and prosumer culture was going to take us. But I'd like to argue that it is taking us to a much more positive future than he allows for.
Think back to the early eighties (or imagine for those of you who weren't born then) when video eight cameras were all the rage. Suddenly a host of people who ordinarily couldn't afford to produce, now could. They in turn inspired others to do the same. Peter Jackson, in a biography by Brian Sibley talked of making his own video eight films which were influenced by what he saw on TV and what he saw other kids doing with their cameras.
If we use the video eight phenomenon as an example and model, then it's clear this 100 rule will not remain stable. The 10 interactive and eventually the 89 viewers will give it a go themselves. Perhaps not all of them mind you, but many will. It's already happening. According to Cnet News a blog is born every half seccond, and that number will increase.
It's still early days, and corporate control is a threat, but the prosumer culture is just beginning to blossom and will grow much prettier than Jose van Dijck proposes.
He also offered the rule of 100. If 100 used the web only one would create something, 10 would "interact" with it, and 89 would passively view it, not unlike the proverbial couch potato.
I would like to question firstly, the 100 rule itself. This rule is not as steadfast as van Dijck paints it. Secondly, why is the 100 rule not celebrated? This is a number far higher than what was achieved before and worthy of celebration, not ciriticism!
Before the internet, before user friendly 'prosumer' technology, the media operated one way. It's true that the public had a say, and I am not quoting the Hyperdermic Needle theory in the least, but it is incontestible fact that those with the technology produced. The rest consumed. Considering the Consolidation among the big compaines, (mergers like AOL Time Warner come to mind) that's a very small number of people producing for the rest. Nowadays, 1 in 100 is a huge leap forward. What's better still is that this 1 in 100 is not a stable figure. van Dijck himself said it was too early to tell where the new technology and prosumer culture was going to take us. But I'd like to argue that it is taking us to a much more positive future than he allows for.
Think back to the early eighties (or imagine for those of you who weren't born then) when video eight cameras were all the rage. Suddenly a host of people who ordinarily couldn't afford to produce, now could. They in turn inspired others to do the same. Peter Jackson, in a biography by Brian Sibley talked of making his own video eight films which were influenced by what he saw on TV and what he saw other kids doing with their cameras.
If we use the video eight phenomenon as an example and model, then it's clear this 100 rule will not remain stable. The 10 interactive and eventually the 89 viewers will give it a go themselves. Perhaps not all of them mind you, but many will. It's already happening. According to Cnet News a blog is born every half seccond, and that number will increase.
It's still early days, and corporate control is a threat, but the prosumer culture is just beginning to blossom and will grow much prettier than Jose van Dijck proposes.