MakerBot Industries

Three years ago, a marketing company produced a video envisioning the future of the media. It illustrates the collapse of old media and rise of new media through the concept of the “prosumer.” The prosumer is not content to sit passively as news is fed to her, but actively contributes to the knowledge stream as an idea producer.

Needless to say, prosumerism has expanded to the world of manufacturing, and MakerBots is at the cutting edge of that transformation. Prosumerism is not just for digital media anymore.

According to one definition, in a prosumerist society, “interconnected users come together to create products to meet their demands.” The power of advertising wanes as consumers realize they can design their own goods.

MakerBot Industries teeters at the intersection between the producer and consumer. Our product is interactive, and we encourage our consumers to help us improve our product, and to be producers.

This new model is what Mateusz Makosiewicz explored for his master’s thesis in philosophy from the University of Gdansk. His blog is “probably the first dedicated entirely to the matters of prosumerism.”

If you’re interested in learning more about prosumerism, check out his recommended reading list, which includes classics such as “Wikinomics,” “The Third Wave,” and “Netocracy.”