#produsage

You ever scroll TikTok for "5 minutes" and suddenly it's 2am? Yeah. There's actually a whole field of social theory dedicated to explaining why that happens and what it means for society.

Week 2 lecture introduced us to social theory as a tool to understand how power, behavior, and communities work online. Think of it as the glasses that help you actually see what's going on beneath the surface of your For You Page.

Here are the theorists you genuinely need to know:

Rheingold said online communities create real social bonds, no physical presence needed. Reddit users raising money for strangers? That's his whole point.

Castells argued modern society runs on digital networks, information and power flow through them globally and instantly. One viral tweet can shift a news cycle. That's network society.

Danah Boyd introduced "networked publics", social media spaces that are shaped by the platform's own design. TikTok's algorithm decides what kind of "public" you're even part of (Ojala & Ripatti-Torniainen, 2024).

Henry Jenkins gave us participatory culture, users aren't just consumers, they're creators. Every meme you've remixed? That's participatory culture in action.

Axel Bruns called it produsage, you produce AND consume at the same time. Wikipedia editors and TikTok creators who also doom-scroll. That's all of us (O'Boyle, 2022).

Papacharissi pointed out that online spaces blur public and private life. Posting your 3am thoughts publicly? She predicted that.

Now here's the big question, is social media actually a public sphere where everyone can speak freely? Spoiler: not really. Surveillance, unequal access, and corporate algorithms all get in the way (Staab & Thiel, 2022). Especially in Malaysia, where social media shaped the GE15 election but also spread disinformation (Tapsell, 2023).

Social theory isn't just for textbooks. It explains your entire online life.

References

O'Boyle, N. (2022). Produsers: New media audiences and the paradoxes of participatory culture. In Communication theory for humans (pp. 175–204). Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-02450-4_7

Ojala, M., & Ripatti-Torniainen, L. (2024). Where is the public of "networked publics"? European Journal of Communication, 39(1), 3–18. https://doi.org/10.1177/02673231231210207

Staab, P., & Thiel, T. (2022). Social media and the digital structural transformation of the public sphere. Theory, Culture & Society, 39(4), 1–19. https://doi.org/10.1177/02632764221103527

My experience with Reddit and the users which exist in its electronic world has been mostly positive and thought provoking. When I posted about the musician’s role in social justice, my audience seemed to be very opinionated and willing to challenge my ideas, calling my questioning of pop culture in regards to social justice an example of me thinking I have an “ideological supremacy.” While I hadn’t considered this before, the Reddit audience made its point clear: diversity of ideas is crucial. 

This time around, I wanted to review the audience of Reddit in terms of their political beliefs. The posts that I saw first, meaning they received the most “upvotes” or engagement, seemed to all be left-leaning. When I delved into the comment section of these posts, the first comment was from a moderator which I found to set the tone for the rest of the comments. 

This gave me a clear window into the purpose of this particular Subreddit (or distinct forum which is based off of a certain theme). The r/politics forum is a platform for civil discussion of politics, which I find crucial to our current political atmosphere.

I found logical and civil discussions taking place on this post: https://www.reddit.com/r/politics/comments/ani32p/fox_news_hosts_not_coping_well_with_finding_out/

I also realized that the audience of Reddit do not fit into the demographic of extremely wealthy people, so their takes on this matter are somewhat biased. However, it was extremely heartening to see citizens engaged in critical political discussions in the absence of trolls. 

After reading these posts, I am confident that Reddit has exceeded my expectations of a writing space. The audience is what makes this happen: those engaged in discussion seem informed and opinionated, which makes for valuable conversation. 

For my newest Reddit post, I chose to ask the Redditors or r/WeAreTheMusicMakers another question because I valued the intellect and dynamic thought they expressed in their replies to my previous post. 

I’ve realized what I value in a writing space is mature dialogue which seeks to further the understanding of every contributor involved. This type of dialogue creates valuable produsage in a writing space--as new ideas are brought forth in the forums, onlookers can further their own knowledge and contribute unprecedented ideas. 

I saw this in a large scale on my first post, as users were contributing to the dialogue and raising questions that wouldn’t have been asked if not for another user’s reply, and so on.

I value this particular forum, WeAreTheMusicMakers, because it pertains to my interests and allows me to connect to musicians who may have more experience and knowledge, which in turn allows me to incorporate those ideas into my practice and become a better creator. 

When I posted this question in the thread, I received two thoughtful responses, one of which I haven’t ever heard before. This is why I value Reddit--ideas from across the globe can come together. 

https://www.reddit.com/r/WeAreTheMusicMakers/comments/an7z4t/how_to_write_moving_lyrics/

Seru-seruan sama keluarga, kakak, adek, pacar, bahkan MANTAN PACAR.

Watch cut-in aja!

Galau mix and match baju?

Galau mau beli produk tapi takut gak cocok?

Atau galau beneran galauin doi?

There’s nothing that a little Polyvore time can’t fix!

Curious what you think of the permeability of shonen anime into the general consciousness, as seen in Everyone Making BNHA OCs. – Casey First things first shonen anime is and has been part of the general consciousness for about thirty years now. My dad knows who Tobor the 8 Man was even if he didn’t, at the time know it was Anime, and Astro Boy is an institution world-wide. What’s more Goku, from…

I Produce and Consume Media!

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Adanya media konvergensi menyebabkan adanya audiens yang aktif. Mengapa? Penggabungan media lama dan media baru menyebabkan banyaknya konten yang diproduksi kembali bahkan diberikan modifikasi atau tambahan-tambahan. Konsep produsage memperlihatkan bahwa audiens secara aktif menjadi produsen dan konsumen secara bersamaan.

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Pada contoh gambar di atas, merupakan series Amerika yaitu Empire yang selalu saya tonton di channel StarWorld. Ketika saya sudah ketinggalan banyak episode tiap minggunya, pilihan yang saya punya adalah mengaksesnya secara streaming di website-website. Tentu saja, ada banyak! Peran website streaming ini merupakan produsen yang meunggah kembali episode series Empire dan bahkan juga terdapat subtitlenya. Tidak hanya subtitle, web-web tersebut juga memiliki lengkap koleksi empire dari season 1 hingga season 2. Hal ini juga terjadi bagi fans-fans drakor seperti runningman, yang juga banyak disediakan di website-website.

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Dalam hal tersebut tentu saya berperan sebagai konsumen, yang mengkonsumsi produksi dari web streaming. Namun, saya turut menjadi produsen ketika saya membagikan link website tersebut ke sosial media saya seperti facebook apalagi ketika saya menambahkan sedikit review mengenai episode tersebut yang akan menarik orang untuk menonton.

Teman-teman mungkin sering melihat Pak Jokowi ketika sedang berpidato kenegaraan, melakukan wawancara dengan para reporter dan lain-lain, tapi apakah kalian pernah membayangkan Pak Jokowi bernyanyi? Eka Gustiwana, seorang youtuber Indonesia dapat memperlihatkannya kepada kalian dengan berbagai video remix nya. Melalui channel youtube nya eka membuat video yang berisi potongan-potongan kegiatan Jokowi, serta kalimat-kalimat yang diucapkan oleh Jokowi yang ia edit dengan tambahan musik seakan-akan pak Jokowi sedang bernyanyi. Video yang dihasilkan pun dapat membuat kita tersenyum bahkan tertawa karena eka memang betujuan untuk membuat video sebagai hiburan semata.

Apa yang dilakukan Eka Gustiwana ini merupakan remix/mashup, yang mana eka menggunakan kembali material yang sudah ada seperti lagu dan video wawancara atau video pidato kenegaraan pak Jokowi yang di dapatnya dari tayangan di televisi, yang kemudian dia produksi kembali sesuai dengan kreatifitasnya sehingga menghasilkan karya yang baru yaitu video pak Jokowi yang sedang bernyanyi.

Dalam buku Remix Making Art and Commerce yang ditulis oleh Lawrence Lessig, manusia kini tidak lagi memiliki budaya RO atau read only yang mana manusia hanya menikmati konten atau “membaca” konten. Kini dengan berkembangnya teknologi budaya yang berkembang menjadi budaya RW atau Read-Write yang mana selain membaca konten, audiens juga dapat memproduksi kembali konten yang ada atau konten yang baru sekalipun sesuai dengan kreativitas mereka. mereka dapat menambahkan, mengurangi, mencampurkan konten yang ada menjadi konten yang baru, remix/mashup ini salah satu perwujudannya. 

Konsep Read and write ini sejalan dengan konsep produsage yang diperkenalkan oleh axel bruns yang mana pengelolaan konten kini berfokus pada audiens sehingga prosesnya merupakan proses yang tidak akan pernah berakhir karena audiens kan terus menerus memproduksi konten sesuai dengan yang mereka mau.

Eka Gustiwana merupakan satu dari sekian banyak audiens yang membuktikan bahwa kini konten tidak hanya read only tetapi juga read and write

Video: Akun Youtube Eka Gustiwana Our President Sings 01: Pak Jokowi suka musik apa? (Duk jekduk jekduk) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1YdxGT35c4I Our President Sings 02: Perdamaian - Nasida Ria (Jokowi Cover) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C9HmeugdN3s

Referensi: Lessig, Lawrence. Remix making art and commence