Historical forms of user production. (May 2014)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Hamilton, James F.
• Is Part Of: Media, culture, and society. Volume 36:Number 4(2014:May)
• Page Start: 491
• Page End: 507
• Publication Date: 2014-05
• Subjects: citizen journalism -- co-creation -- crowdfunding -- crowdsourcing -- open-source software -- user-generated content -- user production; Mass media and culture -- Periodicals; Mass media -- Social aspects -- Periodicals; Wireless communication systems -- Social aspects -- Periodicals; 302.2305
• DOI: 10.1177/0163443714523812
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0163-4437

Abstract

Common conceptions of user production overstate its novelty while understating its variety. To respond to these lacks, this article develops an analytic map that enables a more nuanced historical and critical understanding and investigation of user production. Historical approaches are well suited for capturing the multifarious forms of user production while also avoiding the problem of a-historicism. The article develops a contextual typology of user production by theorizing it as a cultural form. Primary forms discussed include those of buyer; source, subject, interviewee; contestant; supplier; financier; inventor; activist; and member, all of which are related to their generative formations and conditions. The article concludes by suggesting the kinds of questions and studies that such a framework makes possible.