by Nancy Linenkugel
Contributor
We’ve no doubt heard the old joke, “What’s the opposite of PROgress? CONgress!” While there may be a wily truth to that, the difference between pro- and con- spans globes. If I’m actually for something, just think what distance it would take to support the opposite view and be against something. Those opposites make for interesting conversations.
A university colleague asked me recently, “Are you a prosumer?”
I thought about that momentarily and then said, “I sure hope not. It’s not a good idea to presume anything. Besides, it sounds contagious.”
“No, silly, a prosumer is the replacement term for consumer.”
“It is?” I ask incredulously. “When did that happen?”
She went on, “Let me give you a test. What’s your favorite pen brand?”
“Oh no, you would ask me that – you know how much I love pens. At last count I have . . . well, I can’t even count them all. But very few are ones that are really my favorites; most of my pens are freebies, like from funeral homes, nursing homes, health plans, construction companies – whatever I pick up at health fairs or events like that.”
“So what’s your favorite pen? What’s the last pen you bought?”
“Oh, that’s easy,” I quickly reply. “The last pen I bought was a package of 10 Bic Cristal Stics with black ink for $.99. I like writing with those. They’re easy to hold, they’re inexpensive, you can see how much ink is left, and the best part is those don’t leave ink blobs. That’s what I look for most in a pen – it can’t blob.
“And that reminds me, it’s been at least 20 years ago that one of the doctors at the hospital where I was CEO was signing some documents in my office and he pulled a black Bic Cristal Stic out of his shirt pocket. I commented on the pen and how we must have a mutual preference for it. He told me how much he liked that pen, too. It’s the only thing he used in his office and he bought them by the case.”
After patiently listening, my colleague responded, “You’re not a consumer anymore. You’ve become a prosumer.” I flash back a still-puzzled look so she went on. “You really like that Cristal Bic pen. You’re for it. You enumerated reasons why you like it. You even expressed to someone else that you liked it.
“So you’ve actually gone beyond just being a consumer of that pen to being an advocate for it to the doctor and to me. Being a prosumer means that one individual can have a direct impact on whether something succeeds or fails just by using your power of opinion. If you had posted all that on a blog or on social networking, just think who might be influenced about what you said. You, even though you’re just one person, have a global reach.”
Hmmmm . . . a global reach. I wonder what else I can influence. Maybe I should check the stock performance of the pen division of Bic to see if sales have skyrocketed due to my welcomed advocacy.
[Sr. Nancy Linenkugel is a Sylvania Franciscan sister and chair of the department of Health Services Administration at Xavier University, Cincinnati, Ohio.]