The Pro/Am. We’re not amateurs anymore.
New Media has given birth to concepts such as collective intelligence, participatory culture and produsage that fall under the guise of Web2.0 (Flew 2008). These concepts have given the everyday user (the amateur) the capacity to create, contribute and edit information and content through applications/websites that are inherent in the Web2.0 sphere, in addition, with the aid of software amateurs can produce work of a highly professional standard. This behaviour has attributed to a blurring of the distinction between professionals and amateurs (Bruns 2008). To further enhance this claim Bruns (2008) notes that (using Wikipedia as an example) “Pro/Ams and committed produsers have blurred them significantly. Strong distinctions may exist in a small number of ‘hard science’ disciplines, but for the vast majority of the topics covered by Wikipedia they are likely to appear rather less clear cut”(referring to the distinction between expert and amateur). This comment exemplifies the complexity that arrives when identifying an ‘expert’ or an ‘amateur’ in a Web2.0 environment.
The Pro/Am revolution has created users that are both passionate about certain topics and strive to produce work that is of a high professional standard. A perfect example of a pro/am citizen is a lady named Lauren Luke. She has made a living selling makeup on eBay and has uploaded hundreds of make-up tutorial on YouTube. Through word of mouth she gained huge popularity and has become somewhat of an expert in the eyes of many people who use her tutorials. She isn’t a professional make -up artist, she just has a passion for make-up and pursues her craft with professional dedication and judges her work accordingly (Harrison 2009). Characteristics such as the ones portrayed by Lauren Luke are what make a pro/am and utilising low cost new media applications gives this concept more realisation.
Linking this concept to advertising I want to draw knowledge from my post on Produsage. Doritos utilised the help of pro/am advertisers to create a commercial for the SuperBowl. The two men that won had no specific training in production and advertising, they just had a passion and a great idea. The strategy that was utilised proved to be fruitful for both Doritos and the men who won. Doritos where able to obtain a fresh new take on their take on their product at a relatively low cost and the two men that won are now making money in directorial roles as a result of the fame that came with winning the competition.
The Doritos example show a significant shift towards a user created content approach, whereby advertisers actively seek the help and collaboration of the pro/am advertiser in order to attain specific campaign objectives. This approach of collaboration is an excellent option for advertisers to employ in order to cultivate fresh and exciting ideas with regards to creativity with a relatively low financial outlay.
In summary, I feel the only distinction between a professional and pro/am is training, both possess a passion and desire to create high quality work, what has aided the pro/am in today’s world though is that they have access to technology and information that permits them the capacity to facilitate work that is on par with professionals standards. So watch out professionals the pro/am are moving in.
Hi there,
I see you’ve voiced an important and significant connection between advertising and the pro/am citizens. Instead of focussing so much on the negative impact of pro/am’s, such as the inability to distinguish expert/professional content from that of amateur contributors, we should instead be embracing the benefits of the pro/am existence and reap the rewards.
Pro/Am ideas and content are contributing to the diversity of online collaborative environments, such as Wikipedia and YouTube. Consider the case of ‘Numedia’, where only expert professional content was published. Failure. People don’t want this. Organisation’s don’t want this. If an organisation wants specific professional opinions, they can use alternative sources, such as traditional professional one-on-one consultations or reports issued from industry contacts. These sources may be traditional but it doesn’t mean they no longer exist.
If an organisation wants fresh, right-here/right-now content from target market, such as tech-savvy internet users from around the globe, at little cost, they should and will utilise contemporary user-led collaborative platforms. You’re right. The pro/am’s are moving in and nothing’s going to stop them. I think this presents more opportunities than threats to professionals in industries such as Advertising, as you have clearly demonstrated with reference to the production of the Doritos commercial.Thanks for the great read.