Prosumers or exploited workers?
Friday, October 16, 2009 by cbic004
In the era of Web 2.0, the rise of the ‘prosumer’ signals an increased blurring of the roles and domains of the professional/producer and the consumer. With a focus on the increased participation, agency and creativity of user generated content, the fact that the term prosumer also signals the subsequent blurring of work (production) and leisure (consumption) is often bypassed. This notion it seems is to the advantage of corporations who are increasingly capitalising on user generated content (UGC).
The notion of the prosumer is generally viewed as potentially liberating and challenging to traditional corporate and industry standards. Nevertheless corporations are using UGC to their own advantage and making it work for them. For example, fan based appropriation of mainstream content can be seen as a challenge to traditional media, whereby fans take what is significant to them from mainstream content and appropriate it in creative ways in order to make it more meaningful to them - to create their own sense of individuality within a homogenous society. However, this fan produced content produced for ‘fun’ during leisure time, has been increasingly embraced if not encouraged by the corporations who own the rights to the original mainstream material as a means of generating publicity. The blurring of work and leisure becomes evident in this instance when it is the corporations, not the fans who benefit financially from such prosumer activity.
It is interesting to consider how something that seems like play and leisure can be infact a form of work. Along these lines it is the corporations that are benefiting from the developing forms of voluntary labour which ultimately add to the value of sites and infrustructure. It it important to dig deeper when considering these issues. The term 'prosumer' it seems has been constructed as a kind of buzzword, wrapped up in notions of active participation and cultural citizenship. These claims need to be carefully considered as there is a danger of buying into the rhetoric and hype.
The notion of the prosumer is generally viewed as potentially liberating and challenging to traditional corporate and industry standards. Nevertheless corporations are using UGC to their own advantage and making it work for them. For example, fan based appropriation of mainstream content can be seen as a challenge to traditional media, whereby fans take what is significant to them from mainstream content and appropriate it in creative ways in order to make it more meaningful to them - to create their own sense of individuality within a homogenous society. However, this fan produced content produced for ‘fun’ during leisure time, has been increasingly embraced if not encouraged by the corporations who own the rights to the original mainstream material as a means of generating publicity. The blurring of work and leisure becomes evident in this instance when it is the corporations, not the fans who benefit financially from such prosumer activity.
It is interesting to consider how something that seems like play and leisure can be infact a form of work. Along these lines it is the corporations that are benefiting from the developing forms of voluntary labour which ultimately add to the value of sites and infrustructure. It it important to dig deeper when considering these issues. The term 'prosumer' it seems has been constructed as a kind of buzzword, wrapped up in notions of active participation and cultural citizenship. These claims need to be carefully considered as there is a danger of buying into the rhetoric and hype.