Prosumer

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With the portmanteau word prosumer ( engl. ), Later Germanized to prosumer , initially a consumer was (in terms of Kon sument ; Engl. Con sumer ) referred, at the same time pro ducer (Engl. Per ducer ) is. Later, the word meaning has been extended to the prosumer as consumers, compared to the average end user per fessionellere claims to a particular product is, therefore, a product with a certain pro fessional grade expected (Engl.).

Producer and consumer

Alvin Toffler in 1980 introduced the concept in the book The Third Wave (The Third Wave) and for persons who at the same time consumers are and producers of the product they use. Toffler sees the prosumer as a person who creates and designs a product or service in order to consume it, i.e. for personal use.

The definition given above shows the prosumer in two dimensions:

1. As a designer or co-designer of the product , e.g. B. a consumer who has the professional and extensive knowledge of the products and environmentally friendly technologies and he uses it to help the manufacturers modify the existing products (usually by using Web 2.0) so that the products better satisfy his needs. This group includes a. lead user who works with manufacturers' R&D departments to develop innovative products.

2. As a manufacturer or co-manufacturer of the product , e.g. B. an ecological prosumer who sorts the garbage to reuse the secondary raw materials becomes part of the production process of the products that have arisen from recycling (waste paper, plastic, glass) and which are then bought by him; a person who generates electrical energy from the photovoltaic systems on the roof of their house for personal use, a person who independently grows the vegetables in their garden for this purpose.

From around 2008 the term will be used in Germany in connection with user-generated content on the Internet. With the development of social networks and the increasing number of blogs , consumers of information on the web are often its producers. The main motives are to enjoy exchanging ideas and having fun creating contributions.

The term has recently also been used in the energy industry. It describes energy consumers who produce electricity themselves and thus at least partially supply themselves (e.g. owners of solar systems). Be used to increase the self-consumption ratio, an additional energy storage, for example on solar systems coupled batteries is also Prosumage (Engl. Per ducer , con sum he and stor age ) spoken.

Professional and Consumer

Regardless of the definition by Toffler, a second meaning arose at the end of the 20th century, composed of the English terms "professional" and "consumer" - that is, " professional " and "consumer". This describes a class of products that are aimed at a target group that stands between simple consumers and professional users.

These products are characterized by their performance, which go well beyond the needs of the casual user and often require advanced expertise in order to use them. Products in this market segment are also referred to as " semi-professional ".

See also

Web links

Wiktionary: Prosument  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Alvin Toffler, The Third Wave, Future Chance. Perspectives for 21st Century Society. (Transl., The third wave 1980), Munich 1983: Goldmann, ISBN 3-442-11350-4 .
  2. ↑ T. Szymusiak: Prosumption - a new concept. Between market and ecology. Sustainability Solutions, Munich 2013, ISBN 978-83-936843-2-8 .
  3. ^ D. Tapscott, AD Williams: Wikinomics: How Mass Collaboration Changes Everything. Penguin, New York 2007.
  4. ↑ T. Szymusiak: Is Alvin Toffler prosumer or lead users of the modern economics? (= Alvin Toffler Prosument czy Lead User współczesnej ekonomii? ) Creativetime, Krakow 2013.
  5. ↑ T. Szymusiak: Social and economic benefits of Prosumption and lead users Phenomenon in Germany - Lessons for Poland [in:] Sustainability Innovation Research Commercialization and Sustainability marketing. Sustainability Solutions, Munich 2013, ISBN 978-83-936843-1-1
  6. ↑ T. Szymusiak: Prosumer - Prosumption - Prosumerism. OmniScriptum GmbH & Co. KG, Düsseldorf 2015, ISBN 978-3-639-89210-9 .
  7. ^ P. Kotler: Prosumers: A new type of consumer. In: The Futurist. 1986.
  8. ↑ www-05.ibm.com
  9. ^ Daniel Thomas Roy: Intelligent Energy Systems of the Future: The Development of Smart Metering and Smart Grid in 2025 . Diplomica Verlag, 2015, p. 116 ( full text in Google Book Search).
  10. ↑ Wolf-Peter Schill, Alexander Zerrahn, Friedrich Kunz: Prosumage of solar electricity: pros, cons, and the system perspective . In: Economics of Energy & Environmental Policy . tape 6 , no. 1 , doi : 10.5547 / 2160-5890.6.1.wsch .