Update: Thanks Ismael for the comment, I updated the post.  I had incorrectly quoted George Ritzer as Ismael Peña-López and vice versa.

In Ismael Peña-López’s post  Towards a Social Science of Web 2.0 (XI) 

Keynote Speech: George Ritzer Theorizing Web 2.0
There’s quite a consensus that Web 2.0 is about consumption, buying….

Who are these unnamed followers of the Web 2.0 consumption revolution? Where are they? Web 2.0 is not about consumption, it’s about contribution, it’s about effective conversation. Web 2.0 is not about buying lots of stuff.

Keynote Speech: George RitzerTheorizing Web 2.0
And a central issue is the collapse among consumption and production, the concept of the prosumer.

Prosumer is not about a collapse, it’s about production and consumption coming closer together in the process. Far from a breakdown of the process, but a richer more customized experience for the consumer. As products grow from mass production to more refined for their consumer, the consumer must be involved in the customization of the product.

prosuming is coding apps for a cracked iPhone; and sooner or later being able to buy an official-but-open iPhone with those apps as firmware.

Completely missing the point of prosumer. Ismael reflects about how production is in the form of a crack for the iPhone. So in order to achieve the customization necessary, the consumer invents a new use for the product out of band to the process of manufacture. Completely missing the point of consumer integration in the production process.


2 Comments

By ismael on September 8, 2007

Hi Chris,

Just to put things clear: it’s not George Ritzer who’s posting, but me. I was just taking notes in a speech of his.

And, as you’ll see in my comments at the end of my post, I fully, completely agree with your point of view :)

Best,

Ismael.

By ismael on September 13, 2007

thanks for the update, Chris! :)

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