The producers of this website are final year students studying Media at RMIT University. This website was built as a means of compiling our research and attmepts to contextualise new production, collaboration and distribution styles that are exemplary of a broader trend in media practice known as "prosumerism".
Specifically, this report addresses this question—
How can we improve the media industry and its output using prosumer production, communication and distribution methods?
To address this, the report will initially examine the 3 key contextual factors of prosumerism: Alvin Toffler's definition of the prosumer in 'The Third Wave', the motivations of hobbyists and professional creatives, and the ubiquity of personal computers. Approaches to six examples of prosumer practice will be discussed in case studies, looking at production tools, communities and distribution methods in those examples of prosumerism. These examples will cover the breadth of media and communications practice: text (citizen journalism & blogging), audio (bedroom music production), video (Youtube videographers, machinima & independent fan film-makers) and interactive media (game modding). Any trends or consistent disparities will then be observed in the concluding portion of the report, with their implications and relationships to the types of research sources used also observed.
Most of the sources used in this report are from blogs, forums, essays, short documentaries, academic papers, essays and journals. In examining a trend affecting most cultural industries, the value of the opinions of its practitioners and dedicated amateur commentators should be given some weight for their unique frame of reference and experience. Coupling these perspectives with academic ones should give a thorough coverage of responses to the report question. By contrasting them, this report should expose some tensions in the expectations of the effect of prosumer practices on the media industry, and some trends.
Produced by:
Leona Jiang
Rebecca Tien
Adam Tzinis
Esther Ho
Tom Roberts
Sheryl Chen
Eric Dittloff
Specifically, this report addresses this question—
How can we improve the media industry and its output using prosumer production, communication and distribution methods?
To address this, the report will initially examine the 3 key contextual factors of prosumerism: Alvin Toffler's definition of the prosumer in 'The Third Wave', the motivations of hobbyists and professional creatives, and the ubiquity of personal computers. Approaches to six examples of prosumer practice will be discussed in case studies, looking at production tools, communities and distribution methods in those examples of prosumerism. These examples will cover the breadth of media and communications practice: text (citizen journalism & blogging), audio (bedroom music production), video (Youtube videographers, machinima & independent fan film-makers) and interactive media (game modding). Any trends or consistent disparities will then be observed in the concluding portion of the report, with their implications and relationships to the types of research sources used also observed.
Most of the sources used in this report are from blogs, forums, essays, short documentaries, academic papers, essays and journals. In examining a trend affecting most cultural industries, the value of the opinions of its practitioners and dedicated amateur commentators should be given some weight for their unique frame of reference and experience. Coupling these perspectives with academic ones should give a thorough coverage of responses to the report question. By contrasting them, this report should expose some tensions in the expectations of the effect of prosumer practices on the media industry, and some trends.
Produced by:
Leona Jiang
Rebecca Tien
Adam Tzinis
Esther Ho
Tom Roberts
Sheryl Chen
Eric Dittloff
