Produsage

Produsage is a portmanteau of the words production and usage, coined by Australian media scholar Axel Bruns and popularized in his book . Produsage is the type of user-led content creation that takes place in a variety of online environments, open source software, and the blogosphere. The concept blurs the boundaries between passive consumption and active production. The distinction between producers and consumers or users of content has faded, as users play the role of producers whether they are aware of this role or not. The hybrid term produser refers to an individual who is engaged in the activity of produsage. This concept is similar and related to commons-based peer production, a term coined by Yochai Benkler.

According to Bruns, produsage has four defining features: 1) Open participation and communal evaluation; 2) Fluid heterarchy through ad hoc ; 3) Palimpsestic unfinished artifacts in a continuing process; and 4) Common property and individual rewards. An example of this discussion feature is the , which facilitates an open discussion between users in evaluating the quality of work created by previous users.

A key characteristic of produsage is a collaboration between produsers to create content rather than working as individuals. The creation of content is frequently done by a number of different users rather than one single author. The produsage model provides tools that are designed and adapted to encourage open discussion. An example of this discussion feature is the , which facilitates an open discussion between users in evaluating the quality of work created by previous users.

Participation in a produsage model is also voluntary. Unlike a hierarchical community, there is no predetermined division of labor, but rather self-selected and voluntary tasks. The community considers the usefulness and relevancy of the contributions—ideas, comments, and edits—made by participants. The contributions that tend to be further evaluated and developed are the relevant and usable ones, while the irrelevant and unusable ones tend to be ignored. Even though the substantiality of useful contributions may vary drastically, they all positively contribute to the overall quality of the project. The participants who consistently make worthy contributions will be viewed as leaders amongst their peers.

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