I love the word prosumer. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prosumer

It’s kind of flattering. It kind of says ‘I get technology and I’m really good at my hobbies’. Prosumers want to do things properly… Slick movies, beautiful photos, nice prints, crisp audio, fast wifi connections. But how much longer will the word will be around for?

Infact, most people want to do things properly these days don’t they? With each generation there will be an increasing number of people who demand the highest quality standards in their digital life. And with each generation there will be fewer consumers who demand simple, entry level technology (our parents). So, at some point the distinction prosumer will be a meaningless differentiator.

And the future surely belongs to brands that cater to young, enthusiastic consumers. Brands with hardcore pedigrees like Canon, Leica spring to mind, and brands pushing specifications hard are ones to watch.

You’d imagine Apple have this future sewn up - but even they recently dumbed down iMovie in its 2008 release and had to re-issue the old version for free. Brands need to realise that once you encourage people to get creative and twiddle with manual settings on their kit - they don’t like having that option taken away. Sure, we want the easy automatic option too (we are not really professionals), but never remove the bells and whistles!

Tags: prosumer, technology