Produsage: Towards a Broader Framework for User-Led Content Creation

Slide 1: c re a tiv e in d u s trie s Produsage: Towards a Broader Framework for User-Led Content Creation Dr Axel Bruns Creative Industries Faculty Queensland University of Technology Brisbane, Australia a.bruns@qut.edu.au creativeindustries.qut.com

Slide 2: c re a tiv e in d u s trie s User-Led Content Production ‒ emerging in various domains: • open source software development • online publishing: ∘ blogs ∘ open news – e.g. Slashdot, Indymedia, OhmyNews • knowledge management ∘ wikis – e.g. Wikipedia ∘ social bookmarking – e.g. del.icio.us, digg ∘ geotagging – e.g. Google Earth, Frappr • multi-user gaming: ∘ e.g. The Sims, Everquest, Second Life, Spore • creative practice ∘ e.g. Flickr, ccMixter, YouTube, Jumpcut • reviews and social shopping ∘ e.g. Epinions, IgoUgo (Image: http://flickr.com/photos/stabilo-boss/93136022/) creativeindustries.qut.com

Slide 3: c re a tiv e in d u s trie s Beyond Production ‒ decline of the traditional value chain: producer  distributor  consumer (producer advised by consumer  distributor  consumer) (customer-made ideas  producer  distributor  consumer) creativeindustries.qut.com

Slide 4: c re a tiv e in d u s trie s What’s Happening Here? ‒ emergence of: • the prosumer (Alvin Toffler)? • the citizen-consumer (John Hartley)? • pro-am production (Charles Leadbeater & Paul Miller)? • customer-made products, produced by a new Generation C (Trendwatching.com)? • corporations harnessing the hive (J.C. Herz)? creativeindustries.qut.com

Slide 5: c re a tiv e in d u s trie s Beyond Products ‒ traditional value chains rely on key ‒ but in a user-led, digital assumptions: environment, this is no longer true: • • products exist in discrete versions, the latest update is always and producers decide when these immediately available – e.g. open are to be released source, Wikipedia • • the distribution of products is content is available for direct controlled (and controllable) by access online – users become producers and distributors, not by producers, and the Net replaces consumers the distributor • • consumers are relatively isolated consumers join together in – only producers have access to enthusiast groups, interest groups, the whole community developer groups • • the core business lies in the sale the core business lies in providing of copyrighted products value-added services around freely available content creativeindustries.qut.com

Slide 6: c re a tiv e in d u s trie s Common Characteristics ‒ shared across these environments: • Open Participation, Communal Evaluation – the community as a whole, if sufficiently large and varied, can contribute more than a closed team of producers, however qualified • Fluid Heterarchy, Ad Hoc Governance – produsers participate as is appropriate to their personal skills, interests, and knowledges; this changes as the produsage project proceeds • Unfinished Artefacts, Continuing Process – content artefacts in produsage projects are continually under development, and therefore always unfinished; their development follows evolutionary, iterative, palimpsestic paths • Common Property, Individual Merit – contributors permit (non- commercial) community use and adaptation of their intellectual property, and are rewarded by the status capital gained through this process creativeindustries.qut.com

Slide 7: c re a tiv e in d u s trie s A New Value Chain? (as producer) produser content content (as user) creativeindustries.qut.com

Slide 8: c re a tiv e in d u s trie s Produsage ‒ beyond production: • ‘anyone can edit’ – users become producers of content • content is no longer a distinct product – it is a temporary artefact of an ongoing process • usage and production are increasingly, inextricably intertwined • strict distinctions between producers, distributors, and consumers no longer apply • a new “Generation C” of content produsers? this is produsage creativeindustries.qut.com

Slide 9: c re a tiv e in d u s trie s Breaking the Chains commercial / non-profit Produsage Environment harvesting of user- (populated by produsers) generated content content development (e.g. The Sims, space set up by Wikipedia on CD-ROM) community or company to commercial / non-profit harbour produsage services to support produsage (e.g. Wikimedia Foundation; Google; (e.g. Red Hat, SourceForge) SourceForge) valuable, often commercial-grade content is created initial IP commercial activities by users contributions from themselves, harnessing the hive individuals, the public domain, or (e.g. support services, commercial sources consultancies, content sales) collaborative, iterative, evolutionary, palimpsestic user-led content development creativeindustries.qut.com

Slide 10: c re a tiv e in d u s trie s Collective Intelligence ‒ Questions and answers: • creative potential of distributed collaboration – grassroots, vernacular creativity; shared folk culture • sustainability of voluntary labour – reliance on interest communities and enthusiasts • intellectual property issues – building a new creative, information, knowledge commons • trust, authority, responsibility, liability – communal evaluation of content quality • emergence of new cultural, social, economic structures – towards a new collective intelligence? creativeindustries.qut.com

Slide 11: c re a tiv e in d u s trie s Produsage Economics ‒ Economic potential: • cheap workforce for commercial producers • but also post-Fordist production/produsage models • possible opposition to traditional business, and opportunity for new businesses ‒ Economic models: • harnessing the hive – by produsers for produsers • harvesting the hive – by produsers for wider community • helping the hive – promoting and supporting produsage • harbouring the hive – providing the spaces for produsage • hijacking the hive – locking users into spaces of produsage creativeindustries.qut.com

Slide 12: c re a tiv e in d u s trie s Political Implications ‒ Towards post-Fordist politics? • growing effect of produser news on political process ∘ towards more dialogue and deliberation, ∘ or more argument and conflict? • rear-guard battles by governments and news organisations against citizen journalists – but not only in authoritarian regimes • conflict between alternative and mainstream media coverage (e.g. Howard Dean campaign) • digital divide opening between traditional audiences and new produser- citizens? Is it possible to harness produsage to support a move of citizens from being a passive audience for to being active produsers of democracy? creativeindustries.qut.com

Slide 13: c re a tiv e in d u s trie s Shameless Plug snurb.info creativeindustries.qut.com