In the old days, some of us were producers, who made things, and some of us were consumers, who used those things (though mostly we were all producers of some things, and consumers of others). Simple, neat, tidy and boring – and a lot of the things that got made just weren’t what we wanted.That was true until the rise of the prosumer – consumers who take part in the production process. This new breed of market-savvy creature is largely a creation of the Internet and e-commerce, and it’s changed the way we all do business.
These proactive consumers may be involved in customizing designs (for example, LEGO customer customizations are posted on the Lego site, and then are available for other customers to purchase); in providing feedback that filters into the next product line (customers-on-call who make a living testing Beta products); or in directly creating the actual product itself (iPhona Apps developed for their App store, Linux and open-source stuff, YouTube, etc.).
It’s a whole new way of looking at stuff: Don’t like what’s on the market? Make it better. The power is yours!
