Introduction The rise of the prosumption has been facilitated by the collaboration of producers and consumers coming together

to co-create goods and services and then consuming what has been produced. Toffler (1980) (as referenced in Ritzer and Jurgenson 2010:17) introduced the term prosumer in his book The Third Wave. He predicted as how as a society we had slowly become accustom to being a prosumer. We as a society have slowly become accustom to being a prosumer from using cash points, self service checkouts and kiosks for checking into hotels, and printing plane tickets. Some consumers find this enjoyable while others realise that the company providing the good or service is eliminating staff, but are doing so and passing the savings onto the prosumer. Another group of people feel capitalism is taking advantage and making money off prosumers. Ryanair and Aerlingus charge a handling fee for booking a ticket online, and charge a larger fee to book over the phone or in person. They like to make us feel like we are empowered however they are taking advantage of us. Bloom (2006) derived the definition of prosumer into a blurring of roles of producer and consumer and believes it now describes people who have professional knowledge but are producing amateur content which is especially prevalent with the introduction of Web 2.0, Youtube, Facebook and Twitter. Previously Web 1.0 was provider generated content but we have quickly moved on. (Collins 2010) Youtubes broadcast yourself has created a community based on collaborate sharing around these centres of prosumption. Youtube has created a mass adoption of digital technologies and (created) the rise of Web 2.0 applications. These prosumers are creating discussions, blogging, sharing opinions and spreading information to be enjoyed by all. The market is full of content that is freely produced in abundance by producers who are not charging for their work. Wee have consumers who want to place their creativity on display and dont wish to pay for the expense of being able to feature whatever art they have produced to whomever wants to consume it. Much of the UGC is free to watch, the vast majority ad free and the small selection that has ads are so popular that the addition is an expectable compromise. Tapscott & Williams (2006:20) coined the term wikinomics which is the base concept for the prosumption of user generated content that it is based on openness, peering, sharing, and acting globally which are allowing both sides to participate on their own terms.

The Inability of Capitalists to Control Contemporary Prosumers and Their Greater Resistance to the Incursions of Capitalism There is a wave of digital socialism on web 2.0 to resist the efforts by capitalist to control and exploit the prosumers and promote freedom. Often the corporation is able to profit from the advertisement that can be attached to the content. Tapscott & Williams (2006: 1) explained that the structure of capitalism is not disappearing but there will be changes which will give way to new production models based on a sense of community, collaboration and self organisation instead of being controlled. The prosumer always has the power to take their content, service or good else where or consumer elsewhere. Youtube is not the only video hosting website (List of Video Hosting Services) according to wikipedia there are currently 66 video hosting websites world wide that are accepting new content. Megavideo is headquartered in San Francisco, Megavideo is in Hong Kong and Dailymotion in France. While they would all have different rules for content acceptance it shows that consumers have some of the power in where they choose to upload their content. Not all prosumers are happy and some are rebelling by taking their content to the other providers that would not have the same capitalistic tendencies. Prosumers enjoy what they are creating and producing even if a corporation is profiting from it. They get rewarded in non monetary ways such as recognition and bragging rights to friends and peers even with the unwillingness for corporations to pay for this content Can We Say that the Prosumer is Exploited The debate whether a prosumer is exploited is hard to prove given that much of the power lies with the prosumer and not the company. At anytime a prosumer can choose another outlet to express their material. Companies have the advantage that they have a willing pool of participants with talent that are drawing viewers. Tapscott & Williams (2006: 1) explained someone is always in control. Still the power is in prosumers who are producing and consuming as they are keeping companies like Youtube in business. Often the participants in Youtube dont set out to make money, however several have done so. Meet The YouTube Stars Making $100,000 Plus Per Year shows how 10 ordinary producers of content are making a great deal of money from the use of

advertisement with their uploaded content. (How To Become The Next YouTube Star Making $100,000 Plus Per Year) While the process is not easy and requires Youtube approval, Adsense, Adwords and time, but it can be very profitable. That said in 10 steps Business Insider tells you what is required to become the next Youtube star to make money. Currently Shane Dawson who had 431,787,450 views between July 2009 - 2010 and has made $315,000 on his 3 youtube channels, one which is solely his iPhone imagery. Most of us know the story of Justin Bieber being discovered on Youtube but others such as Joel Reinders have had similar success. (From Viral Fame To Household Name: The Best Careers Launched By Viral Videos) Joel was playing college football for 2 years when his agent made a highlight tape, posted it to Youtube hoping to get noticed by the Canadian Football League (CFL) teams. It worked so well the Cleveland Browns, from the NFL, signed him for $325,000, after watching his video. The capability, especially in this economy to be able to create a job, paid or unpaid, is quite remarkable. It is available that any producer of content can turn a hobby into a profitable carrier. The other prosumers who are is far from being exploited or victimised. Bloom (2006) spoke about Missy DePew who left her job as a TV producer to be a stay at home mother who then created Momme.TV where she has webcasts of parties of mothers, vlogs and has a central point for mothers to congregate. Prosumers have the option to create a niche in their field (Ritzer & Jurgenson 2010: 25) and can profit from being a journalist, actor or artist and become a professional in their field There are some monetary rewards for a few. (Bussey, N. 2009) The "Do us a flavour" campaign kicked off in July 2008, when Walkers challenged the public to invent a crisp flavour. More than 1.2 million people took part in the competition with the flavour eventually picking up 232,336 votes, The result will net the flavour's creator, Emma Rushin from Belper, Derbyshire, a 50,000 prize packet and 1 per cent of future sales. The Possibility of the Emergence of a Whole New Economic Form Capitalists have yet to find a way to profit from peoples access to the sites prosumers are uploading to. (Ritzer & Jurgenson 2010: 28) Most consumers are not willing to pay for internet based content. We are currently seeing this with newspapers trying to charge for content when sites like huffingtonpost.com are providing the information for free. The

companies expect to have the prosumer produce the content for free and then allow people to watch it for free and then most of them are making money on the advertising. This is a system of bartering (The Prosumer and Work Culture: 2011) which is a market of goods and services is based on the idea of prosumption. People are willing participants in this exchange, they want to create content and then enjoy the subsequent content. Ritzer & Jurgenson (2010: 28) explain how companies expect the producers of content to do so for free as the companies are providing them with the tools for producing, uploading and displaying their content. They are both exchanging services and no money is changing hands. Some of the participants who produce content for Youtube treat it like a job as they get the rewards of Ad revenue or the esteem and recognition. All the participants who are contributing to this business structure have the option to make money from it. North (2004) talks about Argentinas first green money network, a new form of bartering. A group of prosumers created credit notes and the national currency was no longer deemed stable. In a way that is whats happening to the participants on Youtube. They are either earning self esteem and recognition or if they have reached a point where they have developed a fan base they using the opportunities to create revenue with advertising as they are not charging the consumer. Abundance (rather than scarcity) and Effectiveness (rather than efficiency) As Ritzer & Jurgenson (2010: 30) point out scarcity is the main pillar of traditional capitalism and this new wave of Web 2.0 is producing an abundance of content and the capitalists are refraining from editing it as the cost of hosting such data is dropping in cost and instead is concentrating on the creations of products and services that facilitate the creation of the content for which they wish to profit from. (Tapscott & Williams 2006:19) Effectiveness is being achieved in the that the uploading and viewing of Youtube content is creating communities that are continuously coming back to engage with each other. Youtube in particular is an example of content that is abundant. Anyone can uploaded whatever type of content they want as long as it doesnt violate copy write or common decency rules. Tapscott & Williams (2006: 40) explains Youtube is a one stop DIY TV station on the web and as such that producers now have the freedom if they own a camera to post a video to a blog or created a personalised TV station, whether their audience is a single person or a million. Citizen journalism which only requires a camera

as simple as a camera phone means people are able to report whatever is going on around them. (Tapscott & Williams 2006: 285) During the uprising in the Middle East, the most up to date news was being produced on mobile telephones thus beating traditional journalist to the story. Even during the recent Dublin floods people didnt watch the news, they went on their smart phones to find out what was going on as they were trying to find a way home. (Tapscott & Williams 2006: 143) The citizen journalist, exhibitionist, artist and other producers of video content are in the millions and they are excited about their 30 seconds of fame. They want to be recognised, they are hoping their one video is going to be a viral hit, get them the esteem they desire and they get global attention. Youtube has a play count of over 100 million per day giving prosumers a chance to create and consumer. The simple act of browsing Youtube can be classified as a hobby and following bloggers who post daily becomes part of a routine. (Tapscott & Williams 2006: 143) Some of the largest blogs are getting half a million visits per day and are surpassing some newspapers concerning how people are even getting the current news. Conclusion Toffler, A (2007[1978]) had 10 changes or events he saw our future holding. The first I think was a foreshadowing of what has developed over the last 30 years later A shift from an emphasis on production to an emphasis on consumption, and with it, a change in time period over which people are willing to defer gratification. Even so I dont think we have seen all that prosumption will attain. IBM recently predicted there will be one trillion connected devices, many of which will be instrumented with real-time capabilities to respond quickly and accurately to the environment. We now amateur cooking shows, math lessons, drawing tutorials and much more at our finger tips with a broadband connection. People are being connected in more ways, are freely expressing themselves with most people wanting nothing in return but to know that what they are doing is being consumed. In a way it is like bartering, a producer knows they are adding to the content and know that others contributions they can consume.

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