“Web 2.0 describes the technological framework for a notable shift from static to dynamic content, from hierarchically managed to collaboratively and continuously developed material, and from user-as-consumer to user-as-contributor (Bruns 2008, 01)”. O’Reilly (2007) describes with great detail that “Web 2.0 is the network as platform, spanning all connected devices; Web 2.0 applications are those that make the most of the intrinsic advantages of that platform: delivering software as a continually-updated service that gets better the more people use it, consuming and remixing data from multiple sources, including individual users, while providing their own data and services in a form that allows remixing by others, creating network effects through an architecture of participation, and going beyond the page metaphor of Web 1.0 to deliver rich user experiences”. It is rather a misleading title to this blog entry as Web 2.0 was theoretically never created, it evolved from the traditional structure to satisfy the growing needs of the community. It started as a demand for an increase in interactivity from the masses to what is now termed ‘produsage’. Produsage can be defined by four key characteristics(Bruns 2008, 3-4):
· Community Based
· Fluid Roles
· Unfinished Artefacts
· Common Property, Individual Merit
Community Based states that instead of a traditionally hierarchical system where information is dictated by few, produsage and the evolution of web 2.0 has re-invented how communities can interact with one another to provide a wider and more diligent user base. This heterachical structure allows the ability of equal participation in a wide variety of areas. Fluid roles denotes how in this heterachical structure the necessity of fluid movement between different roles in the community depending on different topics and the different levels of expertise in the community. Unfinished artefacts implies that with each project being collaborated on, there is essentially no finished product. An example would be the Wikipedia and its millions of webpages each with the ability to be actively updated or changed at any point in time. It is essential to leave these projects open ended as it eliminates further collaboration from a possible more knowledgeable produser. Finally Common Property, Individual Merit explains the core principle to produsage; that no one person can claim ownership to a collaborative project even if he or she was the original creator. It is critical to see that although the original catalyst or topic was proposed by an individual produser, without the creative collaboration from a community based body it would not be as important. Along with collaboration comes new information, contradictory ideas, forked projects, peer acknowledgment, comments etc. It is therefore that no one produsage project can be owned by one individual rather it is owned by the community and individual merit is awarded for the level of involvement by each person. Bruns (2008, 02) describes the two key elements of produsage are web 2.0 and social software. Web 2.0 provides the environment in which is necessary for produsage to thrive where as social software (see Social Networking vs Social Gathering for more) is the catalyst which engulfs the creative body for collaboration. It is therefore that the internet as we know it today and the dramatic change in the way we as produsers utilise it embodies not only the direct need for it as societies needs changed but the transition from the more tradition and static Web 1.0 as a gradual process to satisfy these needs. So as the web evolves to 2.0 so do we… to produser 2.0.
Bruns, A. 2008. The Future Is User-Led: The Path towards Widespread Produsage.
Bruns, A. 2008. Chapter One. Blogsm Wikipedia, Second Life and Beyond: Fron Production to Produsage.
unit_code=KCB201 (accessed April 20, 2008)
O’Reilly, T. 2007. What is Web 2.0: Design Patterns and Business Models for the Next Generation of Software. http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/a/oreilly/tim/news/2005
/09/30/what-is-web-20.html (Accessed May 1, 2008)
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