Brad Berens, iMedia executive editor, writes this piece titled, there's nothing wrong with "user"
At our recent iMedia Agency Summit at Amelia Island, my friend Joseph Jaffe and I went a few rounds on consumer versus user when it comes to content generated by, ahem, civilians. Joe doesn't like "user." It reminds him of the people who use illegal drugs. (Check out minute 55 of Joe's Across the Sound podcast #36 for an extended riff on this.)
Even if we do carry the drug-association around with "user," at least that's more accurate. Mere "consumers" are passive, but drug users can be dangerous.
I'm not crazy about "user," but it's better than "consumer" by orders of magnitude.
Brad my friend, I'm afraid it's you who might be using the drugs!
User is not a step forward but about three steps backwards from consumer.
User is the name given by technology geeks (oil) to the art (once upon a time) of marketing (water) and for some reason, those with "i" (interactive) before "e" (experience), are forgetting about the all important "c" (consumer)
Let the debate continue...
