Thursday 21 April 2011

Produsage: Is it the Killer of Original Content?

Thank you Axel Bruns, for making up a word that defines creativity for the amateur, so to speak. "Produsers" are participants in the creation of shared content, who have broken down the boundaries between producers and consumers. They are involved in the collaborative and continuous building of existing content for further improvement. (If you didn't understand that, to put it into layman's terms: You take an original piece of content, in this case a video, manipulate it by voice dubbing, mash up, photoshop it, basically doing whatever you want to it, to make it different) 


The best example I could find of produsage in a media sense, was a YouTube video of Charlie Sheen. To show how the original compares with the produsage version, below is the original media interview with a reporter:



Now here is the produsage version. It has been completely changed from an interview, and prodused into a song:




YouTube and other video sharing sites, allow the consumer to become the producer. But in this case we have to use the word "Produser" because you didn't create the original content. (Confused? Meh. You'll get there!)


Produsers have created a different and sometimes better version of the original. Possibly the most annoying video to date on YouTube is Rebecca Black's "Friday". It has had over one hundred and eleven million views! (Excuse me while I throw up a little). Initially consumers thought it was a joke, ( I still think it is!) hence the high number of views. Here is an example of a produsage video of the said "Friday":



It has had over four million views and really cements the cheesiness of the original! (It's so much better, even though I despise Death Metal! So that says a lot!)


The problem with produsage and it's definition, is the confusion of the ethics and what constitutes copyright. A video is technically not in breach of copyright if it is created for Fair Use. As long as the use is fair, someone can reference someone else's work for parody, education etc. However, if the original owner believes that it is "copyrighted" then the video is removed from YouTube because of its strict policies. My question then is: If you're an Amateur, how can you be in breach of copyright if you are not profiting from your "produsage"? 


But what if you're a celebrity doing a parody? Well then THAT'S OK! Right? It's considered Fair Use!




If popular videos are taken down, fans will then post copies of the videos onto other sites such as funny or die. Ironically two of the videos I have posted, were originally on YouTube but have since been removed.

The below video is a literal version of Vanilla Ice's, Ice Ice Baby. I think it's better than the original song itself! Obviously Vanilla Ice thought so too and packed in his wapper (white rapper) "career" to become a Landscape Gardener! Say WHAAAAAAT? That's right!




Axel Bruns has four key principles of Produsage. I've used Wikipedia as an example of how it fits into them:




1.Open Participation/Communal Evaluation: 
The constant updating of information that anyone can edit. This is Charlie Sheen's Wikipedia page. This is a prime example of the evaluation part. It has been flagged for Recentism,which means that the topic has received recent public attention. (Hmmm you don't say?) It is Wikipedia's immediate editorial process. 


2.Fluid Heterarchy/ Ad Hoc Meritocracy: 
As anyone can edit the information available on the Website, it is not controlled by a moderator. There is no Hierarchy of control.




3.Unfinished artefacts/Continuing Process: 
The website is always accessible, with new pages being added. It is always updating, never completed. 




4.Common Property/Individual Rewards: 
Content is made available to current and future participants. This is covered under Licenses to ensure content is freely distributed and reproduced. 


(Of course, with anybody being able to edit any topic, you can't rely on the authenticity or accuracy of the information! If you do you're a WikiIdiot!)




To finish off this blog entry, I will end with what I believe is the funniest literal music video: Total eclipse of the heart, by Bonnie Tyler. For those of you who are concerned that Produsage is killing original content, I'll put this to you; isn't Produsage the greatest form of "original" content?


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