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Media Use and the Extended Commodification of the Lifeworld

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Technologies of Labour and the Politics of Contradiction

Part of the book series: Dynamics of Virtual Work ((DVW))

Abstract

In the chapter Bolin argues that in the world of digital, interactive media, media users become involved in two kinds of valorisation processes: one in which they produce social, aesthetic and cultural value within the framework of a cultural economy – which then becomes appropriated by the media industries and transformed into economic value. Furthermore, the nature of the business models of social networking media makes the labour activities at their bottom easily misrecognized by the media users. The result of this process is an increased commodification of social realms that have previously been outside of the economic markets.

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Acknowledgements

I want to thank the students from my MA course at Augsburg University in the Autumn 2016 for conducting and transcribing the German interviews: Janine Blessing, Marina Drakova, Lara Gauder, Constanze Küchler, Chloë Lamaire, Maria Leix, Ines Mayr, Julia Muhm, Daphne Noviant, Robert Pavcic, Katja Pfefferle. The research was funded by a grant from the Bank of Sweden Tercentenary Foundation, and through a visiting professorship at Augsburg University – a special thanks to Susanne Kinnebrock and Helena Bilandzic for the invitation. I also want to thank Fredrik Stiernstedt for comments on an earlier draft.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Södertörn University, Stockholm, Sweden

    Göran Bolin

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  1. Göran Bolin
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department for Culture and Communication, Institute for Development and International Relations, Zagreb, Croatia

    Paško Bilić

  2. Department for Culture and Communication, Institute for Development and International Relations, Zagreb, Croatia

    Jaka Primorac

  3. Department of Arts and Cultural Studies, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark

    Bjarki Valtýsson

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Bolin, G. (2018). Media Use and the Extended Commodification of the Lifeworld. In: Bilić , P., Primorac, J., Valtýsson, B. (eds) Technologies of Labour and the Politics of Contradiction. Dynamics of Virtual Work. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-76279-1_13

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-76279-1_13

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  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-76278-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-76279-1

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