aliciapalimaka’s blog

The open sourced features of Web2.0 have gifted everyday internet users with the ability to create and publish content to an international audience sparking a revolution Pro-Am produsers.  Pro-Ams are dedicated and exemplary contributors to the online user-generated content community.  They are innovative, committed and networked individuals using amateur skills to produce professional results (Flew 2008, 113).  The emergence of Pro-Ams truly underscores the far reaching implications produsage has on production models of digital content.

In my blog Mr and Mrs J. Citizen I have already examined the growing Pro-Am behaviour of citizen journalism, where unqualified internet users are publishing news worthy content online.  Another breed of Pro-Am users can be found at the photo sharing website called Flickr.  The site is host to a collaborative produsage community allowing users to create a profile, upload, share, tag and comment photographs across the network (Flickr 2009).  At Flickr amateur photographers are achieving commercial success through companies paying royalties for images they find on the site.  Pro-Am Flickr photographer Chris Teso blogs about the financial rewards he has received by becoming a part of the Flickr movement.

“As novice, I’m able to sell my services and prints to the entire world, and have. I’ve sold prints to publishers, been commissioned for projects, been invited by Getty Images to sell stock, and made various other business connections via Flickr” (Teso 2009).

Chris’s experience encapsulates the power of produsage technologies in bridging the divide between professional and amateur.  With the advent of Pro-Ams like Chris we are seeing an environment where businesses are increasingly utilising their easily accessible work for commercial gains.  Unlike Getty Images in Chris’ situation who are properly reimbursing photographers, there are organisations that are unfairly exploiting the work of Pro-Ams.  Youtube has been the subject of criticism for such actions in its end-user licence agreement, which grant “Youtube the rights to commercially exploit the content uploaded by its users, without a need for remuneration” (Bruns 2008, 8).

Such unscrupulous behaviour is even more prominent in the development of online multi-user gaming.  Through their open sourced software online gaming companies allow communities of Pro-Am developers to create their own narratives which they then adopt into the game (Bruns 2008, 8).  These Pro-Ams generally receive no reward and continue to pay a monthly subscription fee for their unpaid labour (Bruns 2008, 8). Although their actions may be within legal boundaries, taking advantage of the skills offered by willing Pro-Ams is morally wrong and may deter the future expansion of this new media phenomenon.

The creativity afforded to everyday internet users through the flexible publishing tools of the web is expanding the diversity of online cultural artefacts and allowing individuals to enjoy commercial advantages.  However, the work of these eager Pro-Ams is at risk of being exploited by large corporations.  This movement suggests the need for the online community to examine new methods of copyright and protection for creators.  While Flickr has already taken this step forward by incorporating the Creative Commons in its photo sharing network, a larger digital property protection consensus must be reached by the wider produsage community to ensure the content generated by produsers is utilised fairly.

REFERENCE LIST

Bruns, A. 2008. The Future Is User-Led: The Path towards Widespread Produsage. QUT ePrints. http://eprints.qut.edu.au/12902/1/12902.pdf (accessed May 14, 2009).

Flew. 2008. New Media: An Introduction. 3rd ed. South Melbourne: Oxford UP.

Flickr. 2009. About Flickr. http://www.flickr.com/about/ (accessed May 13, 2009).

Teso, C. 2009. Flickr – The Democratization of Photography and Other Creative Mediums. http://www.christeso.com/index.php/life/flickr-and-the-democratization-of-photography-and-other-creative-mediums/ (accessed May 12, 2009).