death of consumer

Death of Consumers: Is it possible?

What? Death. Consumers. What does it mean? Are they talking about the end? Is it already end of the world? Why talk about the death of consumers. It is us. Its you. It is me. It consist everyone of us. We are living in this world where a natural economy arises and that we are to act to be responsible as a consumer. Death as in death? Oh, you or shall I say that I must be kidding.

Well, as everyone can noticed, its just a matter of having a shallow view when it talks about consumers. There is more to it. Better than it! But before saying and writing about my understanding with regards to the death of consumers, let us first define it.

Consumer is defined to be that someone who could patronize and refers to those groups of people who could be the buyers or the potentials stakeholders. On our own equivalent, we in our personal lives act as a consumer. More preferably it could be happening in our daily living and survivability.

There was once when I, together with my mama got into the market and had chance of battling with the vendors with regards to lowering the price. If nobody may object, included in the market is the place where almost every people may love to spend their money wisely. In the market or in any other places (as long as the price can be lowered) we usually stand as a consumer. Of course of what is placed in the vendor, it is only that same thing that we tend to buy and sometimes sacrificed. All of us know that we are living in a world where survivability is really a need. If we would not be able to survive, then we are dead. Now, back to my own experience, in the market, it is being assumed that every people (maybe in the early period) is just satisfied and be contented of what is being served. We ask what is this and what’s that then, okay go, fight and pay. I know that we are not rich and I did not grow fed with a gold spoon. But, I am really shy talking with the vendor operator. For me its somehow shameful since they had invested in this kind of business then we are juts to make it as free and nothing at all. But, as we go along there had been a lot of changes that has been made and will always be changing.

It is not just only our characters have the ability to change. It is not only our attitude towards ourselves neither only good for our community but I believe that it is only inevitable in each of our lives in the aspect of economy. We live in each of our own society so it naturally includes our economic stand since we live as a consumer. But, I should say that nowadays, everything has been altered may be because of the advancement of technology. It is not only the machine that changes but as well as the people who uses and is the one responsible for the creation of these inventions. I believe that even a very single and little inventions has its own meaning and reason of why it has been made. Basically it has been made also because of the reflection of the people who may be using it the personal interpretation of the inventor to his invention. It’s a quite confusing statement, but I’ll just leave you with that confusion until we will both figure out what I am pointing in the succeeding paragraphs.

Consumer vs Prosumer

Now, before going deeper, I believe that it would be better if we are to discuss and differentiate first of what customer is and what prosumer is. In this way we would have a better understanding about the death of consumer and is there a certain thing that replaces it and if there is, what could that thing be. I suppose that it could be possibly better and nicer. Of course it should be since it replaces the old thing which we believe that is perfect and true. No wonder why consumer has to be replaced. But with regards to the qualities if what replaces it, I would like to share as you continue on reading. But as for now on the very first place let us discuss consumer.

Consumer

“Customer is the most important visitor in our premises. He is not dependent on us, we are on him. He is not an interruption to our work, he is the purpose of it.”

-         Mahatma Gandhi

(Applause) J I like it when he say “He is not an interruption to our work, he is the purpose of it”. Indeed. With out the existence of the consumer the market would have been a failure. With out the presence of the consumer the economy may collapse it is because of the fact that we as consumer or as a costumer is responsible for acquiring the goods and services offered. This has been the function of the customer or the consumer for several years. Now let us see its other side. Together let us examine and discover its positive and negative sides. Let us scrutinize its flaws of why is there a need of changing this and adopt a new set of thinking. I fit was already the best, then it could not have been done this way and go as far as hanging it. I could just relate it to one of our class discussion in Technopreneurship II. As we have our discussion and as we went on the interaction of each of the student, there is this single phrase that is being repeated again and again; it is “to make the world a better place”. I don’t know but I guess in 5 consecutives sharing of ideas it is being stated on and on. It is then that I realized that each of the individual aspires and aims nothing but only to help make the world a better place. Why not right? Through this goal it can help of course not only the world but most significantly the person which consist the totality of the world and as far as we are concern, we all know that in aiming and to aspire for more, it needed a hard work and perseverance. Most especially, in wanting for more, in wanting for development, change is needed. Definitely it is a change for the better and not for the worst. It is for the better for it to be called and have the justification of why adapt the change and leave the other  lived idea. We all know that in a life, risk are to be taken to improve and to continue surviving and winning the uncertainties and adversities in life. In each of these changes, we also have to be responsible for making this change. If not us, who made the change, who? Thereby stating that we as human should know first of what is needed and what is not. If we would not be able to do such thing, then it could be sorry for us. Although we can again create and make another change but again let us bare in mind that having and making a change is not as easy as one can imagine. Taking a reset of anything that had done in a not so well ending is such a difficult task to do. I know that thinking about it is easy but in reality its not. Just like life, business also has the same blueprint. In becoming a human who happen to exist in this world, then we have to do all of those practices and as a technopreneur in the world of technopreneurship, we are also to adapt the same concept. Let us just see life as a business and let us just try to put ourselves as a technopreneur. The things that I have been sharing and letting you read are just few of the facts which I know about the concept of changing. Now how may I relate it to the death of consumer? Simple. It is because consumer has been replaced or shall I make it renewed by a new thought. We all know that anything in this worls may it be concrete or abstract is subject for changes and the concept of consumer is not excluded to that fact. It is still, and it is very much vital to change it. We know this and again it is for the betterment.

Again, may I ask a question? What does the concept of consumer does not have that the prosumer has? Or shall I ask what is in the consumer that needs to be eradicated for it to have equal value with the concept of prosumer? Well I guess, this would be a very though question for me to understand and answer.

CONSUMER. Again during our class discussion, we had a short sharing with regards on the difference of consumer to prosumer. As being defined, they refer to those individual who buys products or services for personal use and not for manufacture or resale. A consumer is someone who can make the decision whether or not to purchase an item at the store, and someone who can be influenced by marketing and advertisements. Any time someone goes to a store and purchases a toy, shirt, beverage, or anything else, they are making that decision as a consumer. In addition, Consumer is a broad label for any individuals or households that use goods and services generated within the economy. It being termed there, “used” goods and services. Seeing this definition, we then realized that it is the consumer who are just to consume the product being offered. Meaning, it is just as simple as that and it also says that as a consumer, the production and wanting to customize something from the product would just be given credit in the business man only or the entrepreneur. Then after that we discussed first of how the era of economy evolved. In one of the lecture slides that we had, it had it there the explanation. It started with the agricultural era, to mid agricultural until reaching the technological era. I am not so sure with the evolution of each of the generation but there is one thing that I am sure; our generation now would not have been like this if not because of the baseline foundation coming from the past. A saying says that Past is past. Okay, let us leave it like that but let us not forget the things and theory that we used as a model for our own implementation today. Again, I also want to share a thought which I had just came up in my mind. I had formulated it since I can relate to it and I pretty well know that there could have been a lot  more scenarios and examples that we can relate out from; and my saying goes like this: “Living in the past wont make you love the future. ” If there are those people who are against me with regards to it formulation, I don’t know but I just had it my mind. I don’t know if there already exist like this. (Just want to make sure). Yes, I believe in that saying. Definitely living in the past would really not make you love the future. In this sense it seems like you are dreaming but it is backwards. Funny, but how could you feel like dreaming if your basis is the past and opted to live it rather than leave it? If it is on that case, then I should say that it is futile and of no use. Just like in our own innovation, we must also dream and change for the advancement of the future.

As for observation, we always intend to change the technology and the different ideas that could we use in order to achieve this change and I bet there is one thing that is missing. It is not only the technology that should change, but as well as the technologist. It is not just only the inventions that must be modified but it must be as well as the inventors and it should not also be only the products and services offered that must be revolutionized but it could be the transformation is as vital for the customers or the consumer. Change in order to sustain.

Prosumer

In a first glance, I should say that prosumer is a compound word. Compound is it naturally means to say that it is being made up two important words. As I go along the internet I found some few facts that lead me verify this hypothesis. According to this website, which features The Rise of the Prosumer, it stated that the word is a combination of producer and consumer that perfectly describe the millions of participants in the Web 2.0 revolution. Basing on this definition, I was being struck in the words producer and consumer. It is then we can say that prosumer is a producer with consumer. Inclined with the above statement, it is to be said that the death of consumer reflects on the birth of prosumer. Again and again it is being stated few of the reasons of why consumer has to acquire its end. Once more, let us be reminded that consumer are those individual who can make the decision whether or not to purchase an item at the store, and someone who can be influenced by marketing and advertisements. In the above statement the term “used” is being noticed and we had made meaning. Now, by this time what we are going to observe is the key word which is influenced. In the context of the consumer, what the usual person does is just accept the thing which is already served. They need not to complain and say anything for the good of the service. As it may say that eve though it has the decision whether to purchase the product or not, still it has the big chance of making them be influenced by the manufacturer. Now, seeing it in the prosumer’s view, things may clearly not the same. If in the consumer’s side everything is just simple and shallow, then its not in the case of prosumer. In the prosumer’s view, we have the power and the ability to demand and customized the product in which way we wanted. In the previous statement, it says that prosumer consist of the words producer and consumer. Now lets talk first about producer. Since it is now the dynamic view of purchasing and buying the economy, we as a person can now participate in the kind of production a manufacturer may produce. In this way it could benefit both parties thus saying that in this manner, it is not only the producer would like the product but as well as the maker in making their manufactured goods as good as their costumers may like it. Again let me reiterate it that it is through the concept of prosumer that we can best have our desired services.

I had stated it already that applying the concept of prosumer is one way of making the economy grow dynamically. In our previous computer subjects, we were able to meet web 2.0 where it teaches us to build and create not just only a web which contains information and data but as well as in letting the user have it actively. Like this, prosumer has the same perception. It allows the user; which is us to become self-motivated and use our own way of possessing our own things. It let us discover our own way of thinking and that they; as the manufacturer does only the things which can help us more. Since we live in this generation where anything and everything has to have his or her own way of surviving, then it is a need to have your own identity in implementing this. This is the reason why I believe that having the concept of prosumer would really make a difference compared to the static view coming from the consumer. As the technology continues to grow and persists on developing for the good of the future, then it should be that the inventors as well as the persons involved should also change dynamically. I could still remember that in graphs we have different kind of relationship and it depends on the factors involved. In this case, we have the factors such as the technology, the inventors and the users, should be directly proportional. Of course we had understand it well that important events are believe to be more special and effective if all elements will coincide; and this includes all which we can see the the model presented by the prosumer. As they may say, it is the professional way of demanding and stipulating to generate better products.

Change for the better and not for the worst. Through this key, nothing is unattainable and everything seems to be near to realization. I basically does not know if how many times did I ever mentioned this but then again, once more I believe that it should not be considered as the death of the consumer because if it is to be termed and called like it, it seems like we already do not have the ability and capability of deciding and in making up our own way of thinking. It is termed as death so it could be understood that it is already gone. This is just only in my own interpretation and I have nothing to do with. However, in some other point, I would likely again to stressed out that the termed death of the consumer lead to the birth of the prosumer. For me it is such a good thing to note that in every year the changes and the improvement seems to go on as fast as it could be possible. I admit that I really does not know much about the concept of prosumer. As of now, it is not a new word, but it’s a word that will become the norm in the coming years. For the following years it could be now use as a standard in attaining their goal and mission. In fact the internet shows some samples and one of this is already being used by companies such as Sony to describe users of video cameras.

Consumer to Prosumer

From Standard to Outstanding

Dare to make a change.

Defy the norms.

GOD BLESSES US ALL.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!