Do we need a new word for "consumer"?

Corbett | March 6, 2003 1:01 AM

Dan Gillmor is right. "Consumer" is a pretty outdated and useless term for the person who is involved in the Internet Age transaction. I mean we're doing more than consuming. We provide the ping in the pong, we are the demand to the supply, we are the propensity to the buy, we are the Adam to the Smith. We also fuel the wheels of commerce with stats, opinions, immediate feedback, CRM, word of mouth, and auctioning. I think we are more like an "audience" in a show. The whole transaction event is driven by media, buying is a process of receiving, and we are all paying to receive, so "audience" seems like a decent interim word for "consumer" until someone comes up with a new word. What do you think?

Silicon Valley - Dan Gillmor's eJournal - Reclassifying the 'Consumer'

Category: Cool Links