Response to post on The Explosion Blog

Dear EXPLOSION!,

I don't mean to start a flame war, but I think you could use a history lesson or two. There was no law in the 18th century against painting or writing for recreational purposes.
Perhaps you are not differentiating between production, participatory media and produsage.

Whenever somebody produces something, they, along with others, are free to benefit from it, use it, consume it. This is typical production.

Participatory media is media to which users can contribute. For example, if you wanted to contribute to the content of MX News or you wanted to phone into a talkback radio station.

Perhaps produsage could be encompassed within participatory media - but my understanding is that produsage is more focused on creating usable content.

I think the primary difference is that while within participatory media there is still an unassailable divide between the professional and the amateur, this divide is non-existent, or at the very least, unconventional in produsage.

The suggestion of MySpace comments as produsage is an interesting one. I think you would find that most new media scholars, as well as Rupert Murdoch, would agree that comments on a MySpace page are a step beyond traditional participatory media. MySpace, by its "open-to-the-public" nature, offers much more than social networking between friends, it provides content.
While Facebook's domain may be limited to (though excelling in) interconnection and social usage, MySpace focuses more on allowing users to create content.

It was for this reason that News Corp tried to 'capture' and own all of the content entered onto MySpace. The conditions were quickly altered amidst outrage that News Corp would own personal information - including information that had been deleted form a profile.

Imagine the possibility of NewsCorp having an instant background search on the hundreds of millions of users. In ten years time, well past your MySpace fascination, Daniel, your employer, News Ltd, could look up your background - which could be very beneficial for them should you be making the headlines, or even applying for another job there!

The 'live music CD' example you gave reminds of the song 4:33, which is performed by the musicians remaining completely silent for the duration of the song. The ‘music’ is the contribution of the audiences – a cough, a sneeze, the occasional snore.
The Producer would be the person who plans and records this event.
The act of making noise in this production could – in some sense, be seen as participatory media.