RedNova News
Twenty-five years after Alvin Toffler coined the term "Prosumer" in his book The Third Wave, Consumer Anthropologist Robbie Blinkoff says the Prosumer is officially here to stay and that this holiday season is their coming of age. "It is now the producers -- companies, manufacturers, marketers and retailers, who need to adapt," said Blinkoff.
A Prosumer is part producer part consumer. Prosumers are engaged in a creative process of producing a product and service portfolio with guidance from trusted friends - the companies they've trusted for years and the new ones they've come to love.
"9/11 unleashed a full scale remapping of the cultural landscape. People were and are re-establishing their identities," said Blinkoff. Prosumer trends include scrapbooking, book clubs and the re-emergence of knitting. In each case, people engage in a activity that connects the actors to membership in larger social circles. Blinkoff points to the I-Pod. It starts with those white headphones, he says, the outward sign that you belong to the I-Pod tribe. >> continue
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