This week has introduced an entirely new produsage concept; DIY culture and design. As discussed in previous weeks, and looked at through portals such as Wikipedia, the concept of produsage (fuelled by Web 2.0) has eliminated many aspects of passive consumerism. As well as user generated content, this field has expanded into aspects of everyday life, seen through sights that have taken advantage of, and marketed, the growing DIY trend such as Etsy, eBay and Instructables. Put more succinctly by Rushkoff in Bruns, “the rise of interactive media does provide us with the beginnings of new metaphors for co-operation, new faith in the power of networked activity and new evidence of our ability to participate actively in the authorship of our collective destiny”.
As Bruns discusses, the increasingly easy access to goods has led to the emergence of what online trend firm Trendwatching describes as “trysumers”, a breed of consumer propelled by sites such as eBay that allow a communal evaluation of goods. It is a site that is based on the open, communal participation and, not unlike Wikipedia, is able to be fit into Bruns’ produsage mold. The company, which referrs to itself as “the world’s online marketplace”, last year had a net revenue of approximately $8.46 billion, thus effectively commercialising produsage culture.
Also found in Bruns is the idea that, unlike ever before, “Pro-Ams are creating new, distributed organizational models that will be innovative, adaptive and low cost”. The DIY website Instructables have taken eBay’s idea one step further and have actually provided an outlet where knowledge blueprints themselves are the product. However the interactivity of the site allows for other users to expand on the blue prints, and further develop the idea into something else. To use an example, a user has published step-by-step instructions on how to make a laptop stand. However in the comments section, other users have adapted the idea to make an entirely different product such as a stereo cover. This is a complete deviation from the traditional 20th century model of consumption, with industries no longer shaped by “large hierarchical organisations with professionals at the top”.
Active participation in a DIY community can also enhance the practices of the individual. As acknowledged by Pesce in Bruns “the individual can do much; the individual in an organisation or institution can do even more, but the individuals in a hyperconnected community…can change the world”. After the birth of her first child, my best friend’s sister Erin opted not to return to work, however through the use of a host site, Etsy, was able to market her own collection of designer baby clothes. In a matter of months, her Wattle Tots collection expanded so much so that she was able to launch her own website.
These sites, in conjunction with knowledge portals such as Wikipedia, are propelling the consumer community into what has been termed again by Pesce as hyperpeople. He predicts that “when you multiply hyperintelligence with the understanding gathered in a hyperconnected community, you have the real force of the 21st century; not bombs, not ideology, but hyperpeople”. Gone are the days of the passive consumer, and the limitations placed on them by hierarchical organisations that pump out goods for purchase. We are moving towards becoming like Erin and joining the collective intelligence community.
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