Rise of the Prosumer

In this modern age of all things digital, the media professional is in danger of becoming an endangered specie. With people producing content for the internet and other platforms their is an abundance of decent quality content that producers of all different types of media are tapping into.

This has ramifications for all modern media proffesionals whether they be a main stream media designer or freelance creating his product for a living. One such instance written in wired (2006) highlights a photographers current downfall in income because of the boom of prosumers creating content.

The National Health Museum has grand plans to occupy a spot on the National Mall in Washington by 2012, but for now its a fledgling institution with little money. "They were on a tight budget, so I charged them my nonprofit rate," says Harmel, who works out of a cozy but crowded office in the back of the house he shares with his wife and stepson. He offered the museum a generous discount: $100 to $150 per photograph. “Thats about half of what a corporate client would pay, he says. Menashe was interested in about four shots, so for Harmel, this could be a sale worth $600.

After several weeks of back-and-forth, Menashe emailed Harmel to say that, regretfully, the deal was off. “I discovered a stock photo site called istock photo, she wrote, which has images at very affordable prices. That was an understatement. The same day, Menashe licensed 56 pictures through iStockphoto for about $1 each.'

no one can compete with prices like that so people like harmil could go out of business sooneer rather than later.

The prosumer is having a major say in what is shown on the most prominent media platform of all the TV. Shows revolving around the numerous viral videos on-line are popping up at an advanced rate and the real attraction of these shows again is that these shows are cheap and cost only a presenters fee to produce.

one such show 'web junk 20' on VH1 was a surprise (even to the producer) hit that they have began looking at more and more viral content for new projects.

Production of cancelled TV shows have fell into the prosumer spectrum, amatuer film makers taking on producing short films based on their favourite cancelled programs.
The whedonverse (Wired 2006) is one area of prosumer film production, all of Joss Whedons cancelled TV programs (Buffy the vampire slayer, Angel and Firefly) have had the prosumer makover. with limited budgets and limited resources these shows have grown from being watched by the prosumer and freinds to 100,000 regular viewers, the show attracting this sought of viewing figures is Cherub and though it has links to the whedon production Angel it is has developed into a show in its own right.

The other two (Buffy and Firefly) have themselves been the subject of prosumer sequels such as Fluffy the english vampire slayer and into the black, these shows are the start of the prosumer influence on the media and the traditional media producer and could have repercussions in the way various media is funded and produced and may be the end of big budget productions and over inflated prices for various forms of content.