Editing Prosumer (section)

== Origins and development ==
The blurring of the roles of consumers and producers has its origins in the cooperative [[self-help]] movements that sprang up during various economic crises, e.g. the [[Great Depression]] of the 1930s. [[Marshall McLuhan]] and Barrington Nevitt suggested in their 1972 book ''Take Today'', (p.&nbsp;4) that with electric technology, the consumer would become a producer. In the 1980 book, ''[[The Third Wave (Toffler book)|The Third Wave]]'', [[futurologist]] [[Alvin Toffler]] coined the term "prosumer" when he predicted that the role of producers and [[consumer]]s would begin to blur and merge (even though he described it in his book ''[[Future Shock]]'' from 1970). Toffler envisioned a highly saturated [[marketplace]] as [[mass production]] of [[standardization|standardized]] products began to satisfy basic consumer demands. To continue growing [[Profit (economics)|profit]], businesses would initiate a process of [[mass customization]], that is the mass production of highly customized products.

However, to reach a high degree of customization, consumers would have to take part in the production process especially in specifying [[design]] requirements. In a sense, this is merely an extension or broadening of the kind of relationship that many affluent clients have had with professionals like [[architect]]s for many decades. However, in many cases architectural clients are not the only or even primary end-consumers.<ref>Lorimer, A. 'Prosumption Architecture: The Decentralization of Architectural Agency as an Economic Imperative', H+ Magazine, 2014, [online] http://hplusmagazine.com/2014/01/13/prosumption-architecture-the-decentralisation-of-architectural-agency-as-an-economic-imperative/ [04/02/14]</ref>

Toffler has extended these and many other ideas well into the 21st century. Along with more recently published works such as ''[[Revolutionary Wealth]]'' (2006),  one can recognize and assess both the concept and fact of the ''prosumer'' as it is seen and felt on a worldwide scale. That these concepts are having a global impact and reach, however, can be measured in part by noting in particular, Toffler's popularity in [[China]]. Discussing some of these issues with [[Newt Gingrich]] on [[C-SPAN]]'s ''[[After Words]]'' program in June 2006, Toffler mentioned that ''The Third Wave'' is the second ranked bestseller of all time in China, just behind a work by [[Mao Zedong]].<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.trumix.com/podshows/521309 |title= C-SPAN - After Words created. Toffler interviewed by Gingrich Episode |publisher = [[C-SPAN]] |date = June 6, 2006 |access-date  = December 5, 2008 |url-status = dead |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20090126051635/http://www.trumix.com/podshows/521309 |archive-date = January 26, 2009 }}</ref>

[[Don Tapscott]] reintroduced the concept in his 1995 book ''The Digital Economy.'', and his 2006 book ''[[Wikinomics|Wikinomics: How Mass Collaboration Changes Everything]]'' with Anthony D. Williams. [[George Ritzer]] and Nathan Jurgenson, in a widely cited article, claimed that prosumption had become a salient characteristic of [[Web 2.0]]. Prosumers create value for companies without receiving wages.

Toffler's Prosumption was well described and expanded in economic terms by [[Philip Kotler]], who saw them as a new challenge for marketers.<ref>Kotler, Philip. (1986). Prosumers: A New Type of Customer. Futurist(September–October), 24-28.</ref> Kotler anticipated that people will also want to play larger role in designing certain goods and services they consume, furthermore modern computers will permit them to do it. He also described several forces that would lead to more prosumption like activities, and to more sustainable lifestyles, that topic was further developed by Tomasz Szymusiak in 2013 and 2015 in two marketing books.<ref>Szymusiak T., (2013). Social and economic benefits of Prosumption and Lead User Phenomenon in Germany - Lessons for Poland [in:] Sustainability Innovation, Research Commercialization and Sustainability Marketing, Sustainability Solutions, München. {{ISBN|978-83-936843-1-1}}</ref><ref>Szymusiak T., (2015). Prosumer – Prosumption – Prosumerism, OmniScriptum GmbH & Co. KG, Düsseldorf. {{ISBN|978-3-639-89210-9}}</ref>

Technological breakthrough has fastened the development of prosumption. With the help of additive manufacturing techniques, for example, co-creation takes place at different production stages: design, manufacturing and distribution stages. It also takes place between individual customers, leading to co-design communities. Similarly, mass customisation is often associated with the production of tailored goods or services on a large scale production. This increase in participation has flourished following the increasing popularity of [[Web 2.0]] technologies, such as Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and Flickr.

In July 2020, an academic description reported on the nature and rise of the "robot prosumer", derived from [[Technology#Medieval and modern history (300 CE – present)|modern-day technology]] and related [[participatory culture]], that, in turn, was substantially predicted earlier by [[List of science fiction authors|science fiction writers]].<ref name="EA-20200724">{{cite news |author=Lancaster University |author-link=Lancaster University |title=Sci-fi foretold social media, Uber and Augmented Reality, offers insights into the future - Science fiction authors can help predict future consumer patterns. |url=https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-07/lu-sfs072420.php |date=24 July 2020 |work=[[EurekAlert!]] |access-date=26 July 2020 }}</ref><ref name="JCC-20200723">{{cite journal |last=Ryder |first=M.J. |title=Lessons from science fiction: Frederik Pohl and the robot prosumer |date=23 July 2020 |journal=[[Journal of Consumer Culture]] |volume=22 |pages=246–263 |doi=10.1177/1469540520944228 |url=https://eprints.lancs.ac.uk/id/eprint/138821/1/FINAL_Frederik_Pohl_and_the_robot_prosumer.pdf |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref name="LU-20200726">{{cite journal |last=Ryder |first=Mike |title=Citizen robots:biopolitics, the computer, and the Vietnam period |url=https://eprints.lancs.ac.uk/id/eprint/141870/ |date=26 July 2020 |journal=[[Lancaster University]] |access-date=26 July 2020 }}</ref>