[Year 12 IPM] Who are the Pro-Ams?

[Roland Gesthuizen]

I read something interesting this weekend about an important emerging social
group called 'Pro-Ams'. As amateurs, they pursue a hobby or pastime -which
in many cases is an all-consuming passion - to a professional standard.
Pro-Ams are involved in 'serious leisure', which requires specialist
knowledge and a major time commitment. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pro-Ams

For example, my college relies and taps into the specialist knowledge of the
volunteers (or Pro-Ams) to operate our computer games club. Major
astronomical breakthroughs and contributions are often made by Pro-Ams.
Opensource software is the ONLY realistic competition to Microsoft and is
built entirely by Pro-Ams. It is a similar story to the growth of Wikipedia.
Even something of what happens with VITTA is built upon the enthusiasm and
energy provided by Pro-Ams. When dealing with organisations, we need to take
into account the social and economic contribution by these Pro-Ams

A new report indicates that everyone needs a hobby and government should
invest in leisure activities to encourage community cohesion.
http://www.demos.co.uk/proamrevolutionfinal_pdf_media_public.aspx

Regards Roland