DEATH OF CONSUMERS ( prosumers )

In our subject project management we have learned one of the convergences which is the death of the consumer and the existence of prosumers. . As far as I remember as what our facilitator said, prosumers is simply the being not satisfy of what companies produces for consumers and for being in demanding of consumers. Prosumers is defined in the internet as a portmanteau formed by contracting either the word professional or producer with the word consumer. The term has taken on multiple conflicting meanings: the business sector sees the prosumer (professional–consumer) as a market segment, whereas economists see the prosumer (producer–consumer) as having greater independence from the mainstream economy. It can also be thought of as converse to the consumer with a passive role, denoting an active role as the individual gets more involved in the process. But way back to old type or kind of consumers or customers when prosumers are not yet existed, customers just buy thing what’s available in the mall or everywhere. Like in some fast-food chains, they offer food in their establishments in what available and what they just offer. But now with the help of technologies businesses are evolved because of the demands of the consumers. They now offer customizing of food online that fits what their appetite really wants to eat. In past years it’s really quite boring and have insufficient products existed but now with the help of experts and technologies, impossible now are made possible for consumers just to satisfy their need.

The term “prosumer” originated with Alvin Toffler, who first used the term in his 1980 book The Third Wave. Toffler defined the prosumer as someone who blurs the distinction between a “consumer” and a “producer.” The term has since come to mean a variety of things, but here we define it as someone who makes little distinction between his or her home and work lives. The prosumer engages in activities belonging to either sphere, regardless of time or location.

Because of their complex lifestyle, which combines a demanding workload and an active family life, prosumers are eager adopters of Web 2.0 products and services—a convergence of process innovation, global marketplaces, and advanced technologies that fundamentally changes the way consumers buy, retailers sell, and products are brought to market. Prosumers typically embrace Web 2.0 technologies such as social networking (Facebook, MySpace), blogging, video on demand (VoD), podcasting, VoDcasting, virtual realities (Second Life, There.com), mobile communications, and other Internet-based technologies and services that allow people to stay connected whenever and wherever they desire. We refer to this as “Connected Life,” and the prosumer is an enthusiastic and early adopter of the connected lifestyle. Not all prosumers use all these technologies, of course; they access whichever technology subset best suits their individual preferences and lifestyles.

Prosumers is really existing nowadays as high technologies are growing and expanding in the world. Being prosumers are been adopt in many countries in the world because nowadays consumers are willing to pay for the cost of what they really want. Consumers are not easily get satisfied on something that they see if that is not their want because consumers now are demanding and they want to have what they really want. But there are still who satisfies on what are existing products now because they are alike of what they want and they are satisfied in its products. Just what in the studies conducted by The Cisco Internet Business Solutions Group (IBSG), prosumers prefer laptop computers to desktops because of their need to be mobile. They spend more of their discretionary income on entertainment than most people, and are interested in multiscreen applications. If they commute, their commutes tend to be longer, and they work at home some percentage of the time (many are full-time home workers). For me would prefer to use laptop also because of its portability, its physical design, and other features that laptop computers advantages than desktop computers. Although desktop computers and laptop computers have differed in some factors, they still have similarity in terms of functionality, but for me laptops have more advantages than desktop computers. Mobile phones evolve I think because of feedbacks they hear and read. In pass years mobile phones are just ordinary phone that can call and text particularly use for communication devices. Now mobile phones are evolve not just for communication device but also for some uses that can be enjoy be consumers in this generations. Mobile phones now have cameras, music player, radio, video players, and others. Consumers have satisfied in the phones existing but there something else I think they want in mobile phones. So touch screen phones exist and grow largely that really satisfy the wants and needs of consumers. As watches exist, it came first to many processes before it became that slim and small. Watches I think made first very big that we can’t imagined, I think it’s been made smaller and fashionable as years passes by because time is really important to people most especially business man. So they made it slimmer, smaller and fashionable that can be used for accessories at the same time because consumers want the watches portable that they can bring wherever they go that at the same time fashionable and presentable to others. In this evolution of product produce are inspired because of the needs and wants of consumers. In my observation products in the pass are been innovated and make it more productive in order to make it more useful. It’s been because of the demands of consumers to businesses that made them realized that’s it’s one good idea in businesses that can help their company or businesses increase their profits also help the industry and society to increase quality of life and change the world to better. Although many businesses are bringing all impossible things to reality to customers, there are still missing or lacking in this world that can still be identify and then innovated.

Marketing strategies of businesses are also evolving because of being in of consumers in high technologies that existing now. Technologies really part of life of most people nowadays and most of them are quite dependent on it. Businesses adopt new opportunities particularly with the use of internet because people are mostly using internet every day. So businesses adopt online selling and promotion of products in internet to increase profit and help change the lifestyles of consumer in terms of buying things. Consumers find really productive type of strategies they think because consumers may able to buy what they goods far from them and make it reachable instead of spending more money for something, and it’s also too time consuming for consumers. Businesses also offers customizing on what customers really wants because as what I have mentioned earlier consumers are demanding, so businesses implemented new strategies that really fits the need and want of customers or consumers. For example in t-shirts designing, some offers free customizing or either customers brings their own design they want for the t-shirt because most customers wants their belongings or maybe gifts wants it to be their handicraft that can they call their own that are unique from others. Customers want to be unique, simple but attractive. That’s the new generations of customers, far from what customers are in the past years. Marketing strategies are evolving because of the demands of most people nowadays. We might think of why businesses are changing their strategies just to increase their profit and to attract more customers, simply because customers now or consumers are now prosumers. It’s just simply because businesses and companies are dependent on consumers because they are the source of profit. So in order to increase their profit they will change or add strategies base on the demands of the people and generations because in demands of people businesses may able to know what should be best products to be produce that might attract customers. Just like in gaming, before 3D games, online games are existed we played kiddy type games that make use fun. But as years pass by we find it boring anymore because it’s not exciting anymore. So businesses came with an idea of developing online games which are exiting than before because with the existing games now people get easily addicted because of it graphics that are realistic that gamers really wants and enjoys. They came up of developing more games nowadays because gamers get bored when it’s already not exciting. There are many games existed in the computers and online in order to not get easily uninterested because if there are many games existed there are lots of options that gamers and customers can choose on in order to still be excited. This are some example on how prosumers affect the strategies of businesses in order to give what society wants, because with the demands there are opportunities that available to businesses.
This are some samples I think about prosumers that I have search in the internet that is also help life be better and make changes on the lifestyle of people that might adopt this things.

The year was 2009; the month, October. News came of the end of the last specialized consumer electronics device. The GPS, which had seemed destined to continue its existence, passed on at the announcement of the Google Maps navigation feature on Android 2.0. OK, a bit exaggerated, but not by much. The current stock of smartphones is showing how many categories of consumer electronics are simply going to disappear, because virtually no one will need them — particularly when the feature set is so much richer. The vision of device “convergence,” long touted as something to desire, will suddenly bite a lot of vendors on their rear ends when they realize that it also means a tumbling opportunity to sell product and, ultimately, a shrinking consumer electronics market.
People are talking about the new Motorola Droid being a GPS killer, but that’s just one category. Next up, cameras, both still and video — 5 megapixels (often more than enough, as I’ve found in my photographic work) with white balance, scene modes, and 720 x 480-pixel “DVD quality” video images. Right now too grainy, according to the PC World review, but something that can certainly be fixed.
Other categories? How about MP3 players? If you look at unit product sales for Apple, it’s clear that as the iPhone increases in popularity, the iPod falls. Granted, that still leaves millions of the units going out store doors, but it suggests what will happen when a majority of handsets become smartphones with storage and user interfaces that make the devices a natural choice for downloading and playing music.

Portable DVD player? I don’t know about your family, but my daughter watches video on her iPod touch. Digital recorder for taking notes? Please, not with a straight face. And with the applications available now or soon coming you, consumers will have all manner of software that will eliminate for many (though not all) the need for a netbook or laptop. But while everyone is drooling, there must be executives scared witless. As you roll first one thing and then another into a single device, you eliminate the need for additional purchases. It’s the logical extension of the march of semiconductors, with a single chip adding ever more functions. Eventually you buy only a fraction of the chips you once needed, and a lot of companies try to figure out what to do with their spare time. Now that’s going to happen on a device level, when suddenly there’s nowhere left to run for anyone.



Reference:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prosumer
http://www.bnet.com/blog/technology-business/android-20-and-the-death-of-consumer-electronics/1810
Prosumers: A New Growth Opportunity by:
William Gerhardt, Principal
Service Provider Practice, IBSG