Week 5, Bruns C, Sustainability

I think that even though Produsage is being commercially exploited, it could still last a bit longer. This is because as mentioned by Bruns the exploitation of the work could just lead to others wanting to create other means of Produsage. It could encourage participants to develop different Produsage areas in which it is operated by a community not commercially. However, then the sustainability of this can be questioned as well. This is because although it might be seem to be at less of a threat to be exploited as it is a community the cost to run and keep it going might just be too much and could put many people off, as Burns says ‘such projects must still be financed somehow, and entirely volunteer-based Produsage models may not be able to be sustained’.
One of the most interesting points of sustainability i think that Bruns raised is that if communities are forming then ‘how can they be guided to gather the critical mass and momentum needed to sustain development’. This then makes me wonder if Produsage will ever last, if it is struggling to with stain exploitation, community costs, and the fact that the ‘new communities’ are defeating the point of Produsage; ‘critical mass’. However I don’t think people are ready to give up yet. I feel we are in a stage where technology and online is developing fast, not decreasing, there as the area of Produsage may not last forever, but I think it will still stand for a bit as people will find other ways to get past the issues.