Untitled

[veronicagarza]

How Tarleton Gillespie felt after realizing corporations use the term “platforms” as a way to gain power…

[veronicagarza]

Does the term “platform” have an alternate meaning we don’t see? And are we as free to be creative as we think we are or are other people pulling the strings?

Author Tarleton Gillespie suggests platforms are a way for corporations to gain power and control what people see and how they see it. By calling something a platform, it allows for people to THINK they are in control but in reality visibility, moderation, and public discourse is controlled.

The word platform isn’t neutral because of how controlled it is by many factor’s and impacts what we are seeing and how we are interpreting it. Each platform juggles the users, the advertisers, the policy makers and the content creators. It’s not a cohesive mix and some party get the short end of the stick.