The Online User

The user who used to be the consumer is slowly becoming the "producer" of the manufacturing and the designing of products online. From social networking sites such as MySpace and Bebo, to informative sites such as Wikipedia and even to website that allow you to publish your own book, the interactive part of the Internet allows people all over the world to have some control over what they can produce online as the user.
The online user has never before had so many opportunities to create and express them self over the Internet. With online blogs and 'vlogs' a user has the ability to create what ever they want and how ever they want. By publishing your own material that you have created, you instantly become a 'prosumer'. Whether you are designing your own video or constructing your own blog website, you have a say in the production that goes into the product.

After understanding the concepts of the prosumer, professional consumer and produser, I remembered a programme I had watched on TV recently. Only a few days ago there was a countdown programme hosted by Webjunk.tv called the "40 Greatest Internet Superstars". This got me thinking of how far the Internet technology has developed. The top 40 videos presented on this programme showed how these ordinary people posting videos and, in some cases, making a fool of themselves have become so well known around the world that they are now famous. A perfect example of this is Gary Broslma. Webjunk.tv crowned Gary Brolsma the number one Internet superstar of 2009. So how did he become so famous? He simply posted up a "goofy" video of himself on Youtube (click here to see video).

This brings the thought of how far the Internet is going to develop. It could it be that in a few years time television will not be the main source for entertainment and information. With news being available online and the gradual availability of programmes being broadcasted online, take Reservoir Hill for example (what's the deal with that anyway?), plus all the entertainment people all over the world producer for the rest of us to see, people may find watching television "online" more convenient. Could this be the end to the popularity of television?

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