work as labour or 'work' as 'leisure'
Tuesday, October 6, 2009 by mia
Here is a (long) quote from Tow Sawyer by Mark Twain about work and leisure and I think it relates quite nicely to the prosumer concept, and the question of their exploitation by corporations.
"In order to make a man or a boy covet a thing, it is only necessary to make the thing difficult to attain. If he (Sawyer) had been a great and wise philosopher, like the writer of this book (Twain giving himself props), he would now have comprehended that work consists of whatever a body is obliged to do, and play consists of whatever a body is not obliged to do. And this would help him to understand why constructing artificial flowers, or performing on a tread-mill, is work, whilst rolling nine-pins or climbing Mont Blanc is only amusement. There are wealthy gentlemen in England who drive four-horse passenger-coaches twenty or thirty miles on a daily line, in the summer, because the privilege costs them considerable money; but if they were offered wages for the service that would turn it into work, then they would resign."
A lot of prosumers are creating texts and other material in their leisure time as they have the freedom to create whatever they like without restrictions in place. They are not obligated to produce an item that generates profit for a company as they are producing something for themselves and their friends in their own time. Therefore they can take as long as they like on it. I think that by stating we are being pressured into some form of a prosumer is an overstatement. Being discovered as the next big thing is not the main driving force behind prosumers. With the availability of new media, it allows for creative juices to flow among people in order to produce the kinds of texts they like for entertainment or information. To some individuals, knowing how the Internet works or creating new software or new SNSs is how they unwind. It does not seem like work to them as it is a project of their own choosing. Although some social theorists,like those from the Frankfurt School, label these activities as work I think it is important to also take into account the intentions of the 'prosumer' and their own labels of their activities. Many of us are prosumers beyond the sphere of the Internet, like organising fundraisers. It may seem like work to an outsider since it is an event, but to the organisers, it is a constructive way to spend their disposable time. Also, a lot of professionals describe their professions as hobbies from which they are fortunate enough to earn a living from and do not see it as work. Yes, we may be adding value to products that corporations generate profits from, but if no interaction or creativity occurred between individuals there would be no diversity or creativity. Corporations are always going to find a way to profit from unpaid work so may be changes need to occur in laws and infrastructure to protect from exploitation; rather than in the behaviours of the individuals.
"In order to make a man or a boy covet a thing, it is only necessary to make the thing difficult to attain. If he (Sawyer) had been a great and wise philosopher, like the writer of this book (Twain giving himself props), he would now have comprehended that work consists of whatever a body is obliged to do, and play consists of whatever a body is not obliged to do. And this would help him to understand why constructing artificial flowers, or performing on a tread-mill, is work, whilst rolling nine-pins or climbing Mont Blanc is only amusement. There are wealthy gentlemen in England who drive four-horse passenger-coaches twenty or thirty miles on a daily line, in the summer, because the privilege costs them considerable money; but if they were offered wages for the service that would turn it into work, then they would resign."
A lot of prosumers are creating texts and other material in their leisure time as they have the freedom to create whatever they like without restrictions in place. They are not obligated to produce an item that generates profit for a company as they are producing something for themselves and their friends in their own time. Therefore they can take as long as they like on it. I think that by stating we are being pressured into some form of a prosumer is an overstatement. Being discovered as the next big thing is not the main driving force behind prosumers. With the availability of new media, it allows for creative juices to flow among people in order to produce the kinds of texts they like for entertainment or information. To some individuals, knowing how the Internet works or creating new software or new SNSs is how they unwind. It does not seem like work to them as it is a project of their own choosing. Although some social theorists,like those from the Frankfurt School, label these activities as work I think it is important to also take into account the intentions of the 'prosumer' and their own labels of their activities. Many of us are prosumers beyond the sphere of the Internet, like organising fundraisers. It may seem like work to an outsider since it is an event, but to the organisers, it is a constructive way to spend their disposable time. Also, a lot of professionals describe their professions as hobbies from which they are fortunate enough to earn a living from and do not see it as work. Yes, we may be adding value to products that corporations generate profits from, but if no interaction or creativity occurred between individuals there would be no diversity or creativity. Corporations are always going to find a way to profit from unpaid work so may be changes need to occur in laws and infrastructure to protect from exploitation; rather than in the behaviours of the individuals.