eFuture Gaze - The iFuture is in the "I" of the iProduser.

When I think of the future I think: holograms, flying cars, teleporting, a cure for cancer and even a cure for the common cold. I also think about the advancement of eCulture and eTechnology. Basically placing an "e" in front of a word used to give it a futuristic tone. Now it's an "I" and as the saying goes, "I before E except after C." (But in a technological sense, the "i" comes after the "e" so perhaps the saying needs to become more iTechnologically iFriendly)

In my previous blogs I have mentioned various topics to do with social media. The one I found most interesting and I can see a real "iFuture" with, if you will is  - Produsage. To refresh your memory, the definition of produsage is 'the collaborative and continuous building and extending of existing content in pursuit of further improvement.'

Thanks to the Internet, any piece of content that gets created and then posted online, can be changed by anybody who wants to. If you find a boring piece of footage or an image, and just want to be creative, then produsage is for you. Just look at the iFuture for Apple:

I would love to take my magic iCarpet for a fly around the produsage world. And thanks to the Apple produser, that could be a produsage possibility. (There's a flying app right?)

The Internet is accessible from just about any device so that's great news for the future of produsage and produsers. Access to sites such as YouTube, make it as easy as the click of a mouse to inform the world of your latest produsage creation. (Up until a month ago, I had no idea the words produsage or produser even existed. I merely thought they were just poor spellings of producer.)

I always like going to YouTube in my spare time and search for the latest produsage pieces. Now that I know there is an actual term for these creative pieces, it makes it so much more funny.

The below original clip is from the 60's television series of Batman. Yes even shows from the past can take on a futuristic feel thanks to Produsage.



Let's face it, without produsage it would be a dull, dull, world. You could be stuck viewing old clips of 60's dancing, trying to work out if their twist like movements are dance steps or the start of a seizure. With the help of produsage, there has been an evolution of dance. It even branched out into weddings also like this one and eventually divorce. But I digress, I managed to find the below produsage version of Batman. (Even Adam West might break into a fit of laughter, aside from his cheezy mono-toned Batman one liners.) As Robin would say: HOLY PRODUSAGE FITS OF LAUGHTER BATMAN!!



Not really sure why there was a random dog, and a Burger King drive by murder of Ronald at the end of that? Maybe it was a hidden message not to do drugs? (Or eat at McDonalds?) Anyway it was pretty hilarious!

From dancing, to television, and also the News, produsage in these areas will also take on an interesting future thanks to Produsers. An American reporter Serene Branson, became a YouTube hit after her "very heavy burtation" incident reporting live from the Grammys:



Now that reporter wasn't "prodused" she suffered from something called a Migraine Aura, the reason behind her gobbledygook. The below YouTube clip is a prodused version made into a song.



I think I just found my new mobile ring tone. Loved that! It was very dares dares son. It's amazing what people can do with something that was originally a few seconds worth of content. Proving that there really is no limit as to what can be achieved with produsage. Imagine how entertaining the produsage news could be?

Howling into the night: a t-shirt design from Threadless.

If I was to say the future of produsage also lies in t-shirt design, you would say, "How would that work?" A company called Threadless, are an online t-shirt franchise who print designs submitted by consumers, which are rated by other consumers to determine the t-shirts popularity. The consumers whose ideas are accepted by the community, get their designs printed and profit from it.

It's an example of Axel Bruns', turning unfinished artefacts into products and allowing for the industrial production of physical goods.

Consumers become the produsers as they are able to participate in the production process. Not only do they get to be the designers, but they can also critique by scoring and commenting on the designs of others.

To further involve the community, others can be made aware of their designs, by sending the Threadless link to promote the website.

Littered Landscape: a t-shirt design from Threadless

Produsage is an evolutionary shared process, and there is a real future in where people can express their creativity and opinions by contributing to the community. So thank you Axel Bruns, for inventing the term produsage. In the future, produsage will probably be called iProdusage and might even be an app on the futuristic iCarpet. Produsage is a berry very heaveh bird -tation, sorry I meant a very creative field, and is likely to take off with consumers as well as corporations. There are no limitations to creativity and I am certainly looking forward to the iFuture of the iProduser.

References:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/crispy_chips/4416301209/
youtube.com
http://www.threadless.com
Bruns, A. 2008. Blogs, Wikipedia, Second Life, and Beyond: From Production To Produsage. New York: Peter Lang
produsage.org
imdb.com