:mattLandia:

prosumer (proh.SOO.mur) 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").

I am the proud owner of the Canon EOS 300D (Digital Rebel). I’ve been coveting a digital SLR since taking a few snaps with the camera of my old neighbor Margaret Cain. Determined to satiate the shutterbug in me, I decided to ask that any friend interested in getting me a birthday gift, just get me a gift card to Wolf Camera. So between my GREAT friends, my awesome girlfriend, some savings, and a little credit, I was armed with the funds to make my purchase.

Empowered consumer that I am, I decided to do a bit of extra research to make sure I would be happy with my purchase, and for the first time in my amateur life, came across the above mentioned consumer description. I had to chew on this word for a while. Proh.SOO.mur... It’s such a contrived word. Like Spork. Or Skort. It’s also so demeaning. I haven’t even purchased the camera yet, and I’m already getting ‘flack’ from the establishment. Why don’t they just go ahead and call the category "If we were playing Global Thermal Nuclear War, you’d be Canada". Meaning I'm in the game, but not really IN the game. No doubt the world "Prosumer" was birthed by a snarky Manhattan copywriter who sold a single picture to Corbis.com and is telling everybody he just went pro.

I would much prefer the following consumer descriptions: "Temporary Amateur". "Latent Professional". "The Well Funded Enthusiast". In any event, I will not be boxed in by the so-called "Professional" oligarchy of digital SLR copywriters. I will be "King Dioptric Adjustment Knob"... "Master Motion Capture"... "Dr. ISO"... "Sir Shutter Speed!"

The man can't hold me down... [[click]].