produsage - an idea whose time has come?

The concept of produsage highlights that within the communities which engage in the collaborative creation and extension of information and knowledge that we examine, the role of consumer and even that of end user have long disappeared, and the distinctions between producers and users of content have faded into comparative insignificance (based on the website http://www.produsage.org/ – accessed April 6th 2008 at 15.35).

One of the best examples of this term is probably Wikipedia, the online all-embracing encyclopaedia that anyone can adjust or alter. As all things in life produsage has its pros and cons. On the positive site it allows people who otherwise wouldn’t be approached, to throw their knowledge into the melting pot and perhaps bring new perspectives to the debate. Participation is as open as possible and the status of the participants is determined on a dynamic, real-time time basis by their contribution.

However, there is the downside to produsage that unscrupulous people can fiddle with things in a way that can be extremely difficult to detect. I certainly think produsage has got limits, but I also think there must be many fields where its application could be really useful.

I only have one question at the end. When a website boldly states that it is about “an idea whose time has come” doesn’t it strike you as odd that its main page (see link above) has not been updated since December 28th last year? Or is it just me again....?