One of two inaugural titles in the new UQP Creative Economy + Innovation Culture series - 'new knowledge for the new economy' Revisiting the pioneering work of Richard Hoggart and his book The Uses of Literacy after 50 years, creative industries pioneer John Hartley provides the conceptual framework, historical context and contemporary analysis needed to understand and extend the role of 'consumer productivity' in creative multimedia. This book shows how far both imaginative and factual media are already exploring the unintended consequences of population-wide digital literacy and social networks, promising a step-change in the growth of knowledge comparable to that of print literacy in the modern era.