Definitions

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun buzzword A person in postindustrial society who combines the economic roles of producer and consumer.
  • adjective marketing Targeted at serious, enthusiastic consumers, incorporating professional features but often modified for non-professional use.
  • adjective marketing high-end
  • noun A serious, enthusiastic consumer: not professional (earning money), but of similar interest and skills to a (generally lower level) professional, or aspiring to such. The target market of prosumer equipment.

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Blend of producer and consumer, coined by futurologist Alvin Toffler in his book The Third Wave (1980). Concept based on suggestion by Marshall McLuhan and Barrington Nevitt in their 1972 book Take Today (p. 4) that consumers would take on producer roles in mass customization.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Blend of professional and consumer.

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Examples

  • While not fully intended to be a replacement for AVID Studio on desktop PCs, All Things D says that it is classified as a prosumer app and that the company wants it to complement its desktop counterpart.

    Gizmodo Adrian Covert 2012

  • Recently, the concept of a "prosumer" - a professional consumer-has emerged in the world of mobile phones.

    Ferris Research » Blog dferris 2010

  • Alvin Toffler coined prosumer in his classic 1980 treatise The Third Wave.

    Buzzword: Prosumer 2007

  • Alvin Toffler coined prosumer in his classic 1980 treatise The Third Wave.

    Buzzword: Prosumer 2007

  • He said a special concern was so-called prosumer cellphones, targeted at upscale consumers but powerful enough to threaten the BlackBerry's leadership in the corporate world.

    BlackBerry Still Sweet 2006

  • That's why we use the word prosumer, it's much closer to business-to-business, "she added. full year profits had fallen by 61 per cent, attributed to poor performance in the US.

    GamesIndustry.biz - News 2009

  • That's why we use the word prosumer, it's much closer to business-to-business, "she added. full year profits had fallen by 61 per cent, attributed to poor performance in the US.

    GamesIndustry.biz - News 2009

  • The £199 download has consistently proved to be one of the best selling items on the App store, suggesting that Apple was expanding Final Cut's audience to include some consumer and so-called "prosumer" customers.

    BBC News - Home 2011

  • A prosumer is a non-professional who nonetheless uses their phone for work purposes.

    Infoworld News 2009

  • A prosumer is a non-professional who nonetheless uses their phone for work purposes.

    Infoworld News 2009

Comments

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  • "n. 1. A consumer who is an amateur in a particular field, but who is knowledgeable enough to require equipment that has some professional features ("professional" + "consumer"). 2. A person who helps to design or customize the products they purchase ("producer" + "consumer"). 3. A person who creates goods for their own use and also possibly to sell ("producing" + "consumer"). 4. A person who takes steps to correct difficulties with consumer companies or markets and to anticipate future problems ("proactive" + "consumer")." --Word Spy

    April 26, 2010