We - the users turned creators and distributors of content - are TIME's Person of the Year 2006, and AdAge's Advertising Agency of the Year 2007. We form a new Generation C. We have MySpace, YouTube, and OurMedia; we run social software, and drive the development of Web 2.0. But beyond the hype, what's really going on?
In this groundbreaking exploration of our developing participatory online culture, Axel Bruns establishes the core principles which drive the rise of collaborative content creation in environments, from open source through blogs and Wikipedia to Second Life. This book shows that what's emerging here is no longer just a new form of content production, but a new process for the continuous creation and extension of knowledge and art by collaborative communities: produsage. The implications of the gradual shift from production to produsage are profound, and will affect the very core of our culture, economy, society, and democracy.
In this groundbreaking exploration of our developing participatory online culture, Axel Bruns establishes the core principles which drive the rise of collaborative content creation in environments, from open source through blogs and Wikipedia to Second Life. This book shows that what's emerging here is no longer just a new form of content production, but a new process for the continuous creation and extension of knowledge and art by collaborative communities: produsage. The implications of the gradual shift from production to produsage are profound, and will affect the very core of our culture, economy, society, and democracy.
«This is quite simply the book about peer production that we've been waiting for. It is not just a book 'about produsage' from an outsider looking in, but a stellar production of the new form of consciousness, written from the inside out, both subjective and objective. The new world is already there, and Axel Bruns will let you see it.» (Michel Bauwens, Founder, P2P Foundation)
«Axel Bruns's far-reaching and conceptually powerful book captures a shift in cultural logic which is profoundly altering how culture gets produced, how knowledge gets circulated, how reputations get made, and how industry, politics, and education operate. This book is essential reading for anyone who wants to know more about Wikipedia, Second Life, or YouTube - in short, for anyone who wants to understand the turn towards participatory culture.» (Henry Jenkins, Author of Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide)
«Axel Bruns's far-reaching and conceptually powerful book captures a shift in cultural logic which is profoundly altering how culture gets produced, how knowledge gets circulated, how reputations get made, and how industry, politics, and education operate. This book is essential reading for anyone who wants to know more about Wikipedia, Second Life, or YouTube - in short, for anyone who wants to understand the turn towards participatory culture.» (Henry Jenkins, Author of Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide)