DIY: Power to the Consumer.
In recent decades, the versatility and power of produsage has hypercharged participatory digital and collaborational systems. As discussed in previous blogs, produsage or user led creation “harnesses the collected, collective intelligence of all participants and manages…to direct their contributions to where they are best able to make a positive impact” (Bruns 2008). Today’s blog will discuss how the proliferation of user-led and generated content is converging the traditional processes of the business model and encouraging open source software as the way of the future.
Produsage relies predominantly on technologies that are interactive, intercreative, shareable, accessible, networkable, remixable and extensible. As Rushkoff (cited in Bruns 2008) elaborates, “the rise of interactive media does provide us with the beginnings of new metaphors for cooperation, new faith in the power of networked activity and new evidence of our ability to participate actively in the authorship of our collective destiny”. In other words, Rushkoff is highlighting how the success of DIY culture is ultimately based on convergence – Those who can provide interesting and inspiring seed problems, break down specific granular tasks and attract and motivate a wide range of contributers to engage in and aggregate into an active and dynamic community.
A brilliant example of a company that has full heartedly converged and thus engaged in the produsage of knowledge and information sharing as well as produsing advertising for the products they discuss is Epinions.com. As a produsage community, Epinion.com have facilitated an excellent platform for users to “to direct their contributions to where they are best able to make a positive impact”. More specifically, Epinions is a “premier consumer reviews platform on the Web and a reliable source for valuable consumer insight, unbiased advice, in-depth product evaluations and personalized recommendations”. Their tagline is “unbiased reviews by real people”.
Similar to Trendwatching, a site designed to report on emerging consumer trends, Epinions’ content is said to be more valuable and reliable than industry reports. This is because people have grown increasingly skeptical of underlying business motives and that marketing strategies have become unethically indirect and inconspicuous. Perhaps this is the reason behind the success of collaborative informational communities. DIY productions such as Epinions, Trendwatching and Ponoko have created clear platforms for users to become produsers, whereby there is a significant shift from informational production to informational produsage. These collaborative DIY online environments have become places where information is accessible, interactive and intercreative meaning it offers consumers an extensive platform of knowledge that is varied, extensive and ultimately always evolving.
In summary, through the proliferation of online DIY communities, it is obvious that the constantly evolving world of user-led and generated content is converging the traditional processes of the business work models and consequently encouraging open source software as the way of the future.
Pro-Ams: Creating a New Revolution.
The distinction between amateurs and professionals has been blurred in a world where citizen journalism, produsage and online blogging has given rise over traditional media formats. The blurring between the separate distinctions of professional and amateur within any endeavor or attainable skill that could be labeled “professional” is not a new concept. This week’s blog will look at the cloudy difference between professionals and amateurs whilst discussing why the growth of Pro-Ams is an important factor within the online world of user-generated content and creation.
Leadbeater and Miller define Pro-Ams as “innovative, commited and networked amateurs working to professional standards” (2004). They are people with a passion who pursue an activity as an amateur, mainly for the love of it, whilst setting a professional standard. Pro ams work at their leisure, regard consumption as a productive activity, and set professional standards to judge their amateur efforts. For example, authors of encyclopedia articles have traditionally been paid professionals, but recently amateurs have entered the field, participating in projects such as Wikipedia, which allow users “the capacity to comment on, revise, or question its content” (Flew 2008).
“Pro-Ams are people pursuing amateur activities to professional standards – are an increasingly important part of our society and economy. For Pro-Ams, leisure is not passive consumerism but active and participatory, it involves the deployment of publicly accredited knowledge and skills, often built up over a long career, which has involved sacrifices and frustrations. The 20th century witnessed the rise of professionals in medicine, science, education, and politics. In one field after another, amateurs and their ramshackle organizations were driven out by people who knew what they were doing and had certificates to prove it. The Pro-Am Revolution argues this historic shift is reversing. We’re witnessing the flowering of Pro-Am, bottom-up self-organisation and the crude, all or nothing, categories of professional or amateur will need to be rethought.”
—excerpt from The Pro-Am Revolution (2004)
I believe Pro-Ams are an important factor within the digital world of user-generated content and creation because it is breaking down the general assumption that only those who go to university and finish with a degree are accredited professionals. In today’s day and age, it is easy enough for the average Joe to merely pass all of his subjects and end up with a degree. Long term study or even university study is not for everyone. There are many other ways for people to learn, gain a thorough understanding on a topic and thus be considered a “professional”. Therefor it is unfair to say that those who do not partake in university degrees are not accredited professionals in their own right.
As Leadbeater explains in this book The Pro-Am Revolution, the twentieth century was shaped by hierarchical organisations with professionals and academics at the top and amateurs at the very bottom of the scale. Now, thankfully hierarchies are becoming fluid heterarchies and users are becoming produsers in their own right. Pro-Ams are the much needed balance between the casual leisure enthusiast blogger and the accredited professional.
Wikipedia: Friend or Foe
Lately I’ve read a lot of articles regarding Wikipedia as a primary platform for propaganda and conspiracy spinning. Whilst I understand that Wikipedia “ is collectively authored…and is freely available to all who have a networked personal computer,” and that it allows users “the capacity to comment on, revise, or question its content”, I do not understand how Wikipedia editors allow for propaganda to be spun and left online for long periods of time for the millions of users to read. Will Richardson identifies Wikipedia as “the poster child for the collaborative construction of knowledge and truth that the new, interactive Web facilitates”. This week’s blog will look at the propaganda and conspiracies surrounding Wikipedia as well as its reliability as an online user-led encyclopaedia.
Propaganda can be defined as the deliberate, systematic attempt to shape perceptions, manipulate cognitions, and direct behaviour to achieve a response that furthers the desired intent of the propagandist (Confidential Resource 2008). According to Flew, Wikipedia can “harness collective intelligence by deriving the benefits of large-scale ongoing participation and user co-creations and peer review of content to continuously improve the quality of service” (2008). What does not make sense then is why Wikipedia is at the centre of propaganda spinning especially when “collective intelligence” and “peer-reviewing” is meant to improve and enhance the credibility and the quality of Wikipedia’s service.
To make my point more substantial, it is interesting to note that in 2003, Fox news made the headlines for changing the information on Wikipedia about a lawsuit they were fighting against AL Franken in order to “create a better image of the company”. According to the Huffington Post, “they (Fox) tried to hide the facts from their viewers that might endanger the carefully crafted bubble of lies and propaganda they have created” (2003). It is evident here that peer reviewing, collective intelligence and Wikipedia’s “editors” did not stop or prohibit Fox’s conspiracy team within an acceptable time frame.
Furthermore, A government office in Ottawa added the following sentences to the entry “homosexuality”: “Homosexuality is evil,” “Homosexuality is wrong according to the Bible” and “Homosexuals need our help and counseling.” How on earth did Wikipedia editors even allow such an awful entry onto Wikipedia. Such examples are proof that Wikipedia has many flaws which need to be overcome.
A more suspicious case occurred in late 2005 when, for four months, Wikipedia included an anonymously written article linking former journalist John Seigenthaler to the assassinations of John F. Kennedy and Robert F. Kennedy. His Wikipedia entry stated: “For a brief time, he was thought to have been directly involved in the Kennedy assassinations of both John and his brother Bobby. Nothing was ever proven.” His Wikipedia entry also included “John Seigenthaler moved to the Soviet Union in 1971, and returned to the United States in 1984. He started one of the country’s largest public relations firms shortly thereafter.” None of this was true, or even alleged, outside of the Wikipedia world. Worst of all, Wikipedia was slow to react. Seigenthaler noticed that his “biography” was altered on 26 May 2005. On 29 May, one of the site’s moderators edited it only by correcting the misspelling of the word “early” but did not check the other much more serious alterations. It is alledged that for four months, Wikipedia depicted him as a suspected assassin before this mention was erased from the website’s history on 5 October.
These horrific examples demonstrate that although Wikipedia is a commonly referred source for a quick and easy search, evidence such as this proves that it is up to the users to establish the unreliable sources and recognise that Wikipedia is simply a public whiteboard which is a combination of deliberate misinformation and conspiracy and highly valuable resources if tackled with the right approach.
Citizen Journalism: A New Advertising Platform.
Citizen journalism, also known as participatory journalism, is “the act of a citizen, or group of citizens, playing an active role in the process of collecting, reporting, analysing and disseminating news and information. The intent of this participation is to provide independent, reliable, accurate, wide ranging and relevant information that a democracy requires” (Flew). Today’s blog will look at the positive effects citizen journalism has on the advertising industry and whether or not it plays an influential role in persuading consumers.
To me, citizen journalism is an art. It is a way of moderating the traditional and often biased media sphere, whilst also adding a creative spin or angle on a topic that is not often thought or spoken about. In Flew’s book New Media: An Introduction, Bowman and Willis refer to the rise of participatory journalism as the “result of many simultaneous, distributed conversations that either blossom or quickly atrophy in the Web’s social network” (2003). This quote in particular, is extremely relevant to the world of advertising and how online blogs, opinions and journalism can affect the approach and mind-set towards a certain product through the simple and simultaneous distribution of online conversation.
According to eMarketer.com, the most trusted media source to consumers are friends, with 42% of those surveyed saying that they trusted word-of-mouth recommendations above other media sources. With a nation of growing bloggers, this statistic proves that citizen journalism can be beneficial to the world of advertising if the article is reflecting a positive message about the product. In other words, if bloggers are saying something good about a product and passing it on to friends or having it read by fellow internet surfers and bloggers, this creates a positive outcome for the brand. It is evident that citizen journalism has a positive effect on advertising. More specifically, citizen journalism initiates online conversation about an advertisement or product and consequently increases people’s curiosity about the product which can potentially induce a purchase. In advertising initiating a purchase is the name of the game.
In the wake of the global economic downturn, advertisers worldwide are shifting more of their budgets into cheaper, more-measurable categories. According to ARAnet , based on polling by Opinion Research Corporation, the best way of accomplishing those tasks is not traditional advertising rather, it means going online. Furthermore, eMarketer demonstrated that more than 77% of traditional advertising agencies are increasing the amount of digital in their budgets by 1% to 29%. And over 10% are upping online budgets by 30% or more.
These statistics make the point that the importance and effect of citizen journalism, as well as tailoring online ads to look like articles, play a critical role in the success of new advertising practices. Research shows that banner ads, pop-up ads, e-mail offers and sponsored links are not as effective as online articles that include brand information (eMarketer 2009). “A key finding for marketers is that younger audiences respond to information that reaches them in the form of articles,” said ARAnet president Scott Severson, “More than two-thirds of the respondents between 18 and 34 said they conduct Internet searches for products or services they read about in online articles either very frequently or somewhat frequently”. Furthermore, articles or forms of citizen journalism which include brand information and opinion were most likely to lead US Internet users to read—and act eMarketer 2009).
In conclusion, it is evident that the rise of citizen journalism has an effective and proven way in persuading consumers. Now and in the future, I believe the role of Citizen Journalists will play an ever increasingly important role in the world of online advertising. This is because the internet has become a reliable online platform of information for society.
Produsage: A new way to think.
According to produsage.org, Produsage is the collaborative and continuous building and extending of existing content in pursuit of further improvement. In other words, produsage is the interaction between users whilst commenting, collaborating, debating and enhancing online content. From an advertising perspective, this blog will focus on how the proliferation of user generated content has changed the practices of contemporary advertising. However, before I delve into this, it is important to look at Brun’s explanation of user-generated content. He said it “harnesses the collected, collective intelligence of all participants and manages…to direct their contributions to where they are best able to make a positive impact.”
For example, in the advertising world, professionals within the industry are encouraging amateurs to create and upload their own ads relating to their brand. Recently, Doritos created an online campaign appropriately called “You make it, we play it,” encouraging consumers to create their own ads. Similarly, Cadbury is another brand that is encouraging user participation by creating an interactive website whilst also allowing users to create their own ad and post it to their website. In doing so, it is clear that produsage and thus user – generated content has become an integral part of the advertising sphere. This reiterates Bruns’ point that user led content harnesses the collective intelligence of all participants and subsequently uses the contributions to make a positive impact. In this case, advertisers and brands use the content to increase exposure of their product as well as gain followers, publicity and an interest from society.
The convergence of media channels as well as the growth of produsage and user generated content has significantly changed the world of advertising, and consequently the media channels used to target their audience. As Jenkins explains “Media convergence is more than simply a technological shift. Convergence alters the relationship between existing technologies, industries, markets, genres and audiences” The advent of new media technologies has lead to a rethink of the advertising model and from an advertising perspective, this reiterates that convergence in the media, and thus the increasing proliferation of produsage, is extremely important to the future structure and presentation of advertising. This is because a vital relationship shift has occurred with not only the markets and technologies they use, but most importantly with their audiences. This is most evident in the exponential growth of viral marketing and the decrease in print advertising (eMarketer.com).
Interestingly, Deuze further illustrates the convergence of media cultures through the growth of produsage and user led content by explaining that the advertising world has changed and that interactivity has become another important key within advertising. “Among creatives and brand managers in advertising the contemporary focus centres heavily on interactive advertising… ‘the paid and unpaid presentation and promotion of products, services and ideas by an identified sponsor through mediated means involving mutual action between consumers and producers’”(2007). Similarly, Rushkoff (cited in Bruns 2008) elaborates that “the rise of interactive media does provide us with the beginnings of new metaphors for cooperation, new faith in the power of networked activity and new evidence of our ability to participate actively in the authorship of our collective destiny”.
In summary, the proliferation of the online media environment, in terms of convergence and produsage, as well as the emergence of interactivity within advertising is important and interesting because “interactivity stands for a more powerful sense of user engagement with media texts, a more independent relation to sources of knowledge, individualised media use, and the greater choice” (Flew 2008). Luckily for the advertising industry they have embraced the principles of produsage, media convergence and online interactivity and are engaging their own innovations with the wider community.
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