Friday, 21 October 2016
Information & Commodification
Upon our class discussion and studying Dan Schiller's point of view in his chapter relating to information and commodity, one particular point he made was quite intriguing to me, which was the idea that capitalism continues to be a "dynamic and unfinished process." He means that as more people become a part of the work force or are brought under the wage relationship, new products and services will continue to expand capital. He states that we can no longer deny that information is becoming a commodity. With this in mind and what we know about information as a commodity, my main takeaway is that whether we are aware or not, with information, we are constantly contributing its expansion. There was an example in an earlier blog post stating that our information is being collected on social media which is why we have specific ads only tailored for us. To this point, Schiller states that social relations are creating some type of capitalist organization. On an everyday basis, we offer personal information in exchange for something else. For example, we fill out surveys to get discounts, free products, etc. When we do this, we are giving them information like our names and e-mails, which is then commodified and used to later advertise more products to us. Information has intrinsic value and can be used as some type of currency that contributes to "market growth." What do you guys think are other ways in which we voluntarily use our own information as currency which leads to its own commodification?
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In accordance to Dan Schiller, one can see how the notion of capitalism continues to be a dynamic and unfinished process. As more people become a part of the work force, product and service will continue to facilitate expansion of capital within everyday life. To answer your question, in what other ways in which we voluntarily use our own information as currency leading to its commodification could be Youtube channels. Youtube is an active social media where you can sign up ‘for free' and create an account by providing your personal information. One can use Youtube to simply watch videos and even so far as create your own in order to have a functioning channel. Here, I think of Youtube channels such as make-up artists. In their videos they often provide thoughts on certain products and tutorials to use them. If a make-up artists provides enough videos and an increasing amount of views, larger companies contact them in order to deliver them products. The Youtubers’ who were once using the website for free, can then use this as an job opportunity. Once this happens, the Youtuber will begin to use these products in their videos and advertise them in a positive manner to viewers. This influences viewers to then purchase the product and contribute to their economic expansion and market growth. This example provides, how popular Youtubers’ can influence users to expand a large corporations capital by promoting a product and/or service in their videos. Through this process I think the Youtubers channel then turns into a commodity itself.
ReplyDeleteThis is a great insight to help us understand and reevaluate how much information we share online. It is the most efficient tool to connect with others and explore sites of interest of interest.
ReplyDeleteWe commodify ourselves. I think LinkedIn is a great example of how we try to essentially sell the best version of ourselves to employers. We post a professional picture and highlight impressive details, like education, awards, certifications, and events we are part of it. We connect with employers, or people in Human Resources to showcase our talents, and market ourselves. Even though we aren’t always applying for a job, our LinkedIn is always there, incase an opportunity may arise. We are giving company’s free information about ourselves and leaving it up to them to approach us.