Modern media is continuously providing new ways to interact, create and delegate. In week 4’s lecture, we discussed how new media is providing opportunities for companies to outsource or “crowdsource” their projects. These participatory media projects are creating questionable methods of how labor is obtained or rewarded. So ultimately, the question is does participatory media and crowdsourcing, exploit its contributors, or is it, as previously discussed, all about choice?
Crowdsourcing is a term discussed as utilizing the resources of the collective, whether that be knowledge, money, creativity or time, to produce and/or resolve problems (Sauter, 2014). As new media has evolved, participatory culture has become quintessential for growth (Sauter, 2014). New media has transformed into a nature where “harnessing and harvesting the hive” can contribute towards the development and value of knowledge or a product (Bruns, 2007).
These new methods of consumption and production blur lines between once definitive roles like work and play and waged and un-waged labour (Sauter, 2014). For example, Facebook has made billions of dollars by relying on users interaction and participation; businesses pay Facebook to advertise, users ‘like’ their Facebook page, giving the companies access to personal interests and information, which then furthers the business’s opportunities and henceforth their profit. Zittrain extended this concept in reference to the site InternetEyes. This site offers live video feed of CCTV footage in the UK to users for free. What is their compensation? To earn reward money, possibly help to reduce crime, and potentially become a hero (Zittrain, 2009). Fuchs explains that this kind of “cloud labour” is synonymous with the use of social media and the Internet at large (Fuchs, 2013). http://youtu.be/UvfCq__uaWg
Despite some users feeling empowered by participating and contributing to the ‘greater good’, “cloud labour” and other “produsage” media employ exploitative methods in order to obtain product or knowledge (Bruns, 2008). In the Web 2.0 world, everything is accessible all of the time, creating a 24/7 working environment. Additionally, in order for media to engage with its users, it must first obtain personal information, creating privacy issues (Sauter, 2014). However, privacy breaches still take place on the Internet without any personal information being obtained. http://youtu.be/p7mTm_76B8Y
It is probably more realistic to consider that users and ‘produsers’ feel both empowered and exploited by new media forms. In the Web 2.0 era, perhaps these concepts are interdependent. Despite, private information being traded and lines between roles being blurred, it is worthwhile to understand that content generated by users is only done with the user’s explicit understanding that it could be used for profitable purposes. The new Web 2.0 world has opened up new means and purposes for creation and artistic exploration. Perhaps this is the main positive to focus on in the future.
Bruns, Axel. 2008. Blogs, Wikipedia, Second Life, and beyond: From production to produsage. New York: Peter Lang. Available at: http://produsage.org/book
Bruns, Axel (2007) Produsage: Towards a Broader Framework for User-Led Content Creation. In Proceedings Creativity & Cognition 6, Washington, DC.
Fuchs, Christian. 2013. “The Power and Political Economy of Social Media.” In Social Media: An Introduction, 97 – 125. London: Sage Publications.
Sauter, M. 2014. “KCB206 internet self and beyond: Week 4 lecture notes.” Accessed March 19, 2014.
http://blackboard.qut.edu.au/bbcswebdav/pid-5279771-dt-content-rid-2260886_1/xid-2260886_1
Zittrain, Jonathan. 2009. Minds for Sale (video, 1hr 16mins). 16 November. Available at: http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/interactive/events/2009/11/berkwest