Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Content creators and users of the future!!
Web 2.0 has opened many windows for everyday citizens to not only view content but create it. A term used to describe people actively using and producing content is ‘Produsage’ coined by the famous Axel Bruns.
With the combination of web 2.0 and the various programs and shareware available to its users, Produsage and collaboration is just a fingertip away. Bruns (2007, 1) describes the technological shift of collaboration from “…static to dynamic content, from hierarchically managed to collaboratively and continuously developed material, and from user-as-consumer to user-as-contributor.” With the establishment of programs such as Flickr, YouTube, Myspace, wikis and many more, people have been given the ability to create their own news and information.
Zetter (2007) states that “Much has been made of the new wave of citizen journalists and their ability to capture on camera phones dramatic events like the massacre at Virginia Tech long before mainstream media arrive at a scene.” Technology today has given people the ability to record moments and incidents that would not normally be captured. News and information provided by online new services, television and radio seem to only provide what is deemed necessary by its journalists. More often than not our news is gatekept and important facts and issues are omitted. However with the flick of a wrist an everyday person can record an important event taking place on a mobile and stream it to websites such as YouTube for all to view.
"...News bloggers and citizen journalists have shown persistence and determination both in uncovering political and other scandals, and in highlighting the shortcomings of professional journalism as it investigated and reports on such scandals" (Bruns 2007, 1).
Produsers not only create news but collaborate with many other people on different information sources such Wikis. A wiki’s content is controlled by its producers. They decide on the nature of the content, changes to be made, updates, etc. There is no higher power or authority figure involved. It seems everyone gets an equal say in content and can change what others have written. Wiki’s are “…based on the collaborative engagement of (ideally large) communities of participants in a shared project” (Bruns 2007, 3).
Web 2.0 and collaborative programs have driven Produsage which would not have been possible if not for Generation C. This new generation of users have the skills, abilities, interest and enthusiasm to use the technologies available which has facilitated in the success of Produsage (Bruns 2007, 1).
References:
Bruns, A. 2007. News Blogs and Citizen Journalism: New Directions for e-Journalism. http://snurb.info/files/News%20 Blogs%20and%20Citizen%20Journalism.pdf (Accessed April 23, 2008).
Bruns. A. 2007. The Future is User-Led: The path towards Widespread Produsage. http://snurb.info/files/ The%20Future%20Is%20User-Led%20(PerthDAC%202007).pdf (Accessed April 23, 2008).
Zetter, K. 2007. Kent State Recording -- Citizen Journalism Before YouTube. http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/
2007/05/kent_state_reco.html (Accessed April 23, 2008).
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1 comment:
I found your post quite an interesting read. Web 2.0 has definitely opened many doors for citizens, with almost anyone being able to become producer of content. Users can create, edit and distribute content.
I agree with your statement “news and information provided by online new services, television and radio seem to only provide what is deemed necessary by its journalists”. Only a particular point of view seems to be portrayed by mainstream media and certain facts seem to be emitted. However, citizen journalism overcomes this by presenting the full picture, with ordinary citizens presenting these important facts. Edmonds (2005) suggests that user-generated blogs and videos can be used as a means for supporting mainstream news. They can also be used to present background information about a report, as well as an alternative view on a story (Edmonds, 2005).
As you mentioned in your blog wikipedia is a prime example of collaboration and produsage. It is a social software tool which allows for the widespread collaboration of large communities and is available in open source, meaning that users can edit, create and extend existing information (Bruns, 2007).
Also, I would just like to mention that there is an interesting website called current.com, where ordinary citizens can upload their own news stories online. Users can rate videos and the most popular stories each day get played on television.
In summary, any user can become a content creator. Users possess the skills to lead the future of produsage and citizen journalism.
Bruns, A. 2007. Produsage: Towards a Broader Framework for User-Led Content Creation.
http://produsage.org/files/Produsage%20(Creativity%20and%20Cognition%202007).pdf (accessed April 10, 2008).
Edmonds, R. 2005. As Blogs and Citizen Journalism Grow, Where's the News?. http://www.poynter.org/content/content_view.asp?id=91391(accessed April 10, 2008).
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