A lot of debate surrounds the difference between Web 1.0 and Web 2.0. It is not exactly clear when Web 1.0 evolved into Web 2.0. There was no precise moment that Facebook, Flickr or Myspace opened their sites to the public and said ‘produse me’. There was no fancy cocktail party, or long emotive speech about changing the face of technology and social interaction. More likely a bored teenager sat online reading about the Italian Renaissance and decided that rather than submit a photo of Michelangelo’s David, he would enhance poor David’s nether regions and post that instead. Finding this concept undoubtedly humorous one of his friends would then take his image and superimpose a picture of President George W Bush’s head on David…and so begins “produsage” (Bruns 2008a). A rather crude example I am aware, however it perfectly sums up not only my brother’s social life, but Bruns’ argument that “produsers engage not in a traditional form of content production, but are instead involved in produsage – the collaborative and continuous building and extending of existing content in pursuit of further improvement” (2008a, 1). In effect, these images and sites are always under construction.
With recent and rapid changes in technology consumers have begun to form and change to suit this new collaborative environment, thus forming the creation of social software or the phenomenon Web 2.0 (Bruns 2008b). The most significant change in the use of technology comes from the development of open source software (Bruns 2008c). Rather than software programs managed by software managers, open source software relies on “peer review and transparency of process” (Opensource.org 2008), developing programs as a community for the broader community (Bruns 2008c). This breaks down the commercial barriers, and enables users to contribute, feedback, collaborate and create (Bruns 2008c). Consumers are now “working towards collective intelligence” (Bruns 2008c). As Bruns explains this development is hardly surprising, as the net was created by people with these backgrounds, as technology changes so does peoples curiosity in how it works (Bruns 2008a).
The development of open source software enables the development of four distinct DIY communities. There are online publishing, media sharing and creative practice, knowledge management and reviews and viral marketing (Bruns 2008c). All actively participating in their communities, creating, sharing and redistributing work within the constraints of their ability (Bruns 2008a). This creates a “fluid role” (Bruns 2008a, 3) for the individual who is required to move through the stages of produsage in order to be a functioning member of the community.
For example, imagine if Wikipedia.org did not enable cross examination or development, once an entry was posted there would be no adjustment or correction. Students would be reading about information technology developments relevant when the site was first published in 2000. This would NOT include:
One point I strongly agree with is that online communities self organize and manage themselves, lending themselves to multiple leaders of expertise, whereas traditional labour jobs are run on a more hierarchical basis, sometimes regardless of individuals potential (Bruns 2008c). As a casual retail assistant I often find that I am more than capable of doing managerial roles and often pick up slack of full timers, yet I am never acknowledged as a co-contributor to my working community. As an online participant I organize social events and manage online tournaments, I am also a participant in some tournaments and attend social events and forums which I have not developed, lending myself as a produser and a leader. With such open creative lease this phenomenon poses interesting questions about copyright and license of intellectual property, and interesting discussion for another day...
Bruns, A. 2008a. KCB201 Virtual Cultures: Week 7 Podcast DIY Media and Collaboration. http://blackboard.qut.edu.au/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab=courses&url=/bin/common/course.pl?course_id=_29175_1 (accessed April 22, 2008).
Bruns, A. 2008b. Produsage: Towards a Broader Framework for User-Led Content Creation. http://blackboard.qut.edu.au/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab=courses&url=/bin/common/course.pl?course_id=_29175_1 (accessed April 22, 2008).
Bruns, A. 2008c. The Future Is User-Led: The Path towards Widespread Produsage. http://blackboard.qut.edu.au/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab=courses&url=/bin/common/course.pl?course_id=_29175_1 (accessed April 22, 2008).
Opensource.org. 2008. Open Source Initiative. http://www.opensource.org/ (accessed April 22, 2008).
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