Abstract
"Free labour" is central to the Internet. Traditional exploitation of labour was complemented by the monetization of attention between the 1880s and 1950s and then by the commoditization of networked publics starting in the 1980s. Today, commercial interests have colonized the Internet and "labour" is being performed online by hundreds of millions of people. Without being recognized as "labour", it turns profits for corporations. Playful, virtual volunteerism, and social production, driven by the desire for praise, entertainment, and peer recognition, has become a significant driving force of consumer capitalism. I am introducing the term "interactivity labour" to discuss the complex phenomena of "free labour" online.
Document Type
Thesis
Publication Date
2009-01-01
DOI
10.24382/4540
Recommended Citation
SCHOLZ, R. T. (2009) THE INTERNET AS PLAYGROUND AND FACTORY. Thesis. University of Plymouth. Available at: https://doi.org/10.24382/4540
