Produsage

I admit I never heard this term before until recent. You are more than welcome to call me ignorant for my crime. What a cleverly put together word which serves a great purpose! It was Axel Bruns who recognized the blurring of the role of producers and the consumers in his paper named, Produsage: towards a broader framework for user-led content creation.So he put together the term produsage.

This is how produsage makes sense to me... We were asked to write blogs and comment on other students' blogs as part of our course work with Swinburne. So we started creating with in the network and engaging with other creators. This is produsage. Right now while you are reading my blog and hopefully thinking about commenting on it, I became a produser. I might reply on your comment and this way officially we are taking part in produsage activity.

Why is it matter whether we become produsers? Perhaps because it makes people like me and you more active in media. It is a very positive concept because it has the capacity to offer consumers a chance to have a say. It also allows everyday people to interconnect and exchange information. Perhaps more importantly, it gives us a chance to materialize what is important to us.

Produsage also becomes crucial for its use in education. I as a 'mum' and and 'passionate digital media user' care about rippling effects of the produsage activity. I recognize there will be traditional approaches in some parts of the educational system but I would like to think that most schools will recognize the potential of produsage and use it to their advantage. Axel Burns sums this up really well.

... the need to provide people with the ability to make active, productive contributions to produsage projects to move from user to produser. This is the “leap to authorship” that Rushkoff describes; it ensures that people are able not only to benefit from hearing the voices of others, but also to add their own voices to the discussion.

So the 'people' we are talking about here are our children! We can not expect to do a good job by putting parental control on the use of internet or TV. On the contrary, we need to raise a generation of people who know their way around the internet and understand where and when to trust the information they may come across. The digital age astounds me with its rapid change and opportunities and I can only imagine how hard it will be for me to keep up with all that is happening even in the near future so it is paramount that schools take an active role and recognize the potential.

I strongly suggest you all have a read of this interesting interview by Axel Bruns.

http://henryjenkins.org/2008/05/from_production_to_produsage_i.html