Produsage...

Web 2.0 is a concept that is difficult to grasp, but I am satisfied that I finally understand! I interpret it, from the information delivered in class as well as readings direct from O'Reilly, as being the mechanism that allows and encourages us to contribute and share knowledge, ideas, creativity in all forms online. It is all about participation and interaction.

I agree with Axel Bruns who suggests that, despite the paradigm shift, web 2.o is poorly understood -- perhaps due to the fact that it is inadequately theorized. In the broadest of terms, his idea of 'produsage' refers to anything that actively involves the end user as a participant. (It form as a hybrid of production and usage.)

In contrast to the readings and lecture material, there are a number of articles in First Monday that oppose aspects of Web 2.0. I found Petersen's Loser Generated Content: From Participation to Exploitation quite interesting. He argues that Web 2.0 encourages us to participate but then 'sells us out' if you will, for commercial gain. This seems like a pretty pessimistic outlook, however he has a valid point. He uses the examples of myspace, flickr and Last.fm being sold for unbelieveable sums of money. No the networking site cannot claim ownership of the individual content, however it is the user 'community' and participation that is sold. The proof is there. Are we merely being exploited? Are users the new commodities that can be bought and sold?

Well, I would feel like an idiot if that is the case. Pleasure doing business with you, Blogger.

References:
Axel Bruns – Blogs, Wikipedia, Second Life and Beyond: From Production to Produsage (ch. 1) Axel Bruns – "Produsage: Towards a Broader Framework for User-Led Content Creation

http://www.uic.edu/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/2141/1948