Participants, not Consumers Reclassifying the 'Consumer'. My friend Jerry Michalski, a notable thinker about how digital technology is changing the world, has long loathed the word "consumer" -- calling it grossly inaccurate and demeaning description of human beings in a market economy. I agree entirely.[Dan Gillmor's eJournal]
In a more connected economy, when I buy a product or service I become a participant in its network. I engage in conversations with the company that provides it. I am a positive or negative reference for the product to other potential buys. I become part of the informal network that supports it, particularly with complicated tech products. I self-bundle two complementary products and thereby bridge two networks. Participants play active roles -- not just in the consumption of a good, but the production of information that relates to it.
The more "out there" sugggestion is that this production follows Yochai Benkler's commons-based peer production model.
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