The moral economy of the algorithmic crowd: Possessive collectivisim and techno-economic rentiership

2021 ◽  
pp. 102452942199049
Author(s):  
Mark Kear
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Scale Up ◽  
Moral Economy ◽  
Scoring Systems ◽  
Problem Solver ◽  
Digital Platforms ◽  
Market Participants ◽  
Moral Economic ◽  
Self Protection ◽  
Extract Information

Algorithmic scoring systems provide novel ways to sort larger populations of borrowers, consumers, employees and benefits recipients. Such algorithmic regimes of classification enable the more efficient capture of value (in the form of rents) outside of traditional sites of production. This paper considers how distributional claims making has evolved in response to the use of algorithms and digital platforms to more profitably discriminate between market participants and extract information rents. More specifically, the paper interrogates an emerging form of collective distributional politics, which I call the moral economy of the serial crowd. This serial crowd is one in which individual acts of algorithmic and digital selfcare (e.g. credit building and monitoring, social media profile curation, self-tracking, etc.) are imagined to ‘scale up,’ and together constitute a collective act of ‘self-protection’ from predatory economic actors, and morally (re)order markets. To understand why this style of social claims making has assumed salience in the current conjuncture, the paper analyses (i) movements to redress inequality and discrimination while appearing to be distributionally neutral, and (ii) the refiguration of the crowd from a problem to be managed by elites to a ‘wise’ exploitable market problem solver. The paper then discusses contemporary examples where serial crowds are associated with various moral economic orders from Go Fund Me campaigns to debt resistance, and credit building.

When People Come First

2013 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Global Health ◽  
Scale Up ◽  
Moral Economy ◽  
Health Science ◽  
Health It ◽  
Left Behind ◽  
New Research ◽  
Health Enterprise ◽  
Conceptual Work

This book critically assesses the expanding field of global health. It brings together an international and interdisciplinary group of scholars to address the medical, social, political, and economic dimensions of the global health enterprise through vivid case studies and bold conceptual work. The book demonstrates the crucial role of ethnography as an empirical lantern in global health, arguing for a more comprehensive, people-centered approach. Topics include the limits of technological quick fixes in disease control, the moral economy of global health science, the unexpected effects of massive treatment rollouts in resource-poor contexts, and how right-to-health activism coalesces with the increased influence of the pharmaceutical industry on health care. The chapters explore the altered landscapes left behind after programs scale up, break down, or move on. We learn that disease is really never just one thing, technology delivery does not equate with care, and biology and technology interact in ways we cannot always predict. The most effective solutions may well be found in people themselves, who consistently exceed the projections of experts and the medical-scientific, political, and humanitarian frameworks in which they are cast. This book sets a new research agenda in global health and social theory and challenges us to rethink the relationships between care, rights, health, and economic futures.

A critical appraisal of diversity in digital knowledge production: Segregated inclusion on YouTube

2021 ◽  
pp. 146144482110348
Author(s):  
Kaiping Chen ◽  
June Jeon ◽  
Yanxi Zhou
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Knowledge Production ◽  
Science Communication ◽  
Critical Appraisal ◽  
Digital Platforms ◽  
The Core ◽  
Inclusion Phenomenon ◽  
Media Platform ◽  
The Rich ◽  
Digital Knowledge

Diversity in knowledge production is a core challenge facing science communication. Despite extensive works showing how diversity has been undermined in science communication, little is known about to what extent social media augments or hinders diversity for science communication. This article addresses this gap by examining the profile and network diversities of knowledge producers on a popular social media platform—YouTube. We revealed the pattern of the juxtaposition of inclusiveness and segregation in this digital platform, which we define as “segregated inclusion.” We found that diverse profiles are presented in digital knowledge production. However, the network among these knowledge producers reveals the rich-get-richer effect. At the intersection of profile and network diversities, we found a decrease in the overall profile diversity when we moved toward the center of the core producers. This segregated inclusion phenomenon questions how inequalities in science communication are replicated and amplified in relation to digital platforms.

The promotional culture of social media and search platforms: an original article by Tom O’Regan and a commentary by Nicholas Carah

2021 ◽  
Vol 180 (1) ◽  
pp. 64-82
Author(s):  
Tom O’Regan ◽  
Nicholas Carah
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Public Accountability ◽  
Unique Form ◽  
Advertising Expenditure ◽  
Digital Platforms

As the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s (ACCC) Digital Platforms Inquiry was at pains to point out, social media and search platforms now capture unprecedented shares of Australian media advertising expenditure. However, this loose collection of media forms and the advertising that supports them are some distance from traditional forms of media and advertising. While much has been written about these differences, the nexus between social media and search media forms and their advertising and promotional settlements had received comparatively little attention until the ACCC made it the front and centre of its inquiry. Our concern here is to take up the invitation the ACCC offers: to reorient our scholarly and public discussions of platforms towards the promotional culture of social media and search platforms. We consider the implications for advertiser-supported media, the unique form of advertising they have created and their challenge to public accountability.

The platform beat: Algorithmic watchdogs in the disinformation age

2021 ◽  
pp. 026732312110283
Author(s):  
Philip M Napoli
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Search Engines ◽  
Complex Dynamics ◽  
Conflicts Of Interest ◽  
Public Trust ◽  
Digital Platforms ◽  
Social Media Platforms

As digital platforms have come to play a central role in the news and information ecosystem, a new realm of watchdog journalism has emerged – the platform beat. Journalists on the platform beat report on the operation, use and misuse of social media platforms and search engines. The platform beat can serve as an important mechanism for increasing the accountability of digital platforms, in ways that can affect public trust in the platforms, but that can also, hopefully, lead to the development of stronger, more reliable, and ultimately more trustworthy, platforms. However, there are a number of tensions, vulnerabilities and potential conflicts of interest that characterize the platform beat. This article explores these complex dynamics of the platform beat in an effort assess the capacity of those on the platform beat to enhance the accountability and trustworthiness of digital platforms.

Moral economy: What’s in a name

2017 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 18-35 ◽  
Author(s):  
James G Carrier
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Economic Activity ◽  
Moral Economy ◽  
Moral Value ◽  
The Past ◽  
Empty Symbol ◽  
The Social ◽  
State Of Affairs ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Moral Economic

The idea of moral economy has been increasingly popular in the social sciences over the past decade, given a confusing variety of meanings and sometimes invoked as an empty symbol. This paper begins by describing this state of affairs and some of its undesirable corollaries, which include unthinking invocations of the moral and simplistic views of some sorts of economic activity. Then, referring especially to the work of EP Thompson and James C Scott, this paper proposes a more precise definition of moral economy that roots moral economic activity in the mutual obligations that arise when people transact with each other over the course of time. It thus distinguishes between the moral values that are the context of economic activity and those that arise from the activity itself. The solution that the paper proposes to the confused state of ‘moral economy’ can, therefore, be seen as terminological, as the sub-title suggests, but it is intended to have the substantive benefits of a better approach to economic activity and circulation and a more explicit and thoughtful attention to moral value.

Measuring the Effectiveness of Social Media in a B2B Scenario in India

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 285-300
Author(s):  
Krishanu Bhattacharyya ◽  
Bikash Ranjan Debata
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Return On Investment ◽  
Business Models ◽  
Business Owners ◽  
Digital Platforms ◽  
Four Dimensions ◽  
The Social

Digitalisation is a global phenomenon that is a worthwhile proposition for the development of any nation’s economy. Social media contributes significantly to the development of an economy by the spreading and democratisation of information through global players, such as Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn etc. According to a Forbes report in 2017, these digital platforms create new ecosystems and business models for business owners and entrepreneurs. Whilst a report by Statista in 2020 states that there were 3.6 billion social media users worldwide and the number is expected to grow to 4.4 billion by 2025. Return on Investment (ROI) measurement of social media, which is a very important component for organisations to evaluate its success or effectiveness, remains a major challenge for organisations, despite number of attempts having been made by experts in the field. This study is aimed at understanding how the success and effectiveness of social media is measured in a B2B scenario. Various frameworks on social media ROI measurement are critically evaluated. Then, a tool for measuring social media ROI is developed, such that businesses will be able to evaluate their social media investments. The instrument covers 14 variables over four dimensions.  The results indicate that respondents perceived organic return as the most important dimension. It is also evident that brand testament is found the least perceived dimension for measuring the social media ROI.

Engaging Destination Stakeholders in the Digital Era: The Best Practice of Italian Regional DMOs

2018 ◽  
Vol 43 (3) ◽  
pp. 349-373 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mariapina Trunfio ◽  
Maria Della Lucia
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Stakeholder Engagement ◽  
Best Practice ◽  
Destination Marketing ◽  
Digital Platforms ◽  
Quantitative And Qualitative Research ◽  
Digital Era ◽  
Managerial Implications ◽  
Social Media Platforms ◽  
Media Index

This article examines the underinvestigated topic of how destination marketing organizations (DMOs) engage stakeholders in destination management and marketing through leverage on off-line tools, official destination websites, and social media platforms. Building on a significant body of literature and advances in quantitative and qualitative research, we provide three methodological tools: two scales assessing DMO stakeholder engagement off-line and online and a social media index measuring tourist engagement. Our results confirm that in Italy regional DMOs are capitalizing on the digital platforms and off-line participatory tools to enhance stakeholder engagement in destinations’ decision making. Theoretical and managerial implications for destination management in the digital era are suggested.

scholarly journals COVID-19 as an “Infodemic” in Public Health: Critical Role of the Social Media

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Debanjan Banerjee ◽  
K. S. Meena
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Global Public Health ◽  
Sources Of Information ◽  
Multiple Sources ◽  
Health Crisis ◽  
Digital Platforms ◽  
The Impact

The Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has emerged as a significant and global public health crisis. Besides the rising number of cases and fatalities, the outbreak has also affected economies, employment and policies alike. As billions are being isolated at their homes to contain the infection, the uncertainty gives rise to mass hysteria and panic. Amidst this, there has been a hidden epidemic of “information” that makes COVID-19 stand out as a “digital infodemic” from the earlier outbreaks. Repeated and detailed content about the virus, geographical statistics, and multiple sources of information can all lead to chronic stress and confusion at times of crisis. Added to this is the plethora of misinformation, rumor and conspiracy theories circulating every day. With increased digitalization, media penetration has increased with a more significant number of people aiding in the “information pollution.” In this article, we glance at the unique evolution of COVID-19 as an “infodemic” in the hands of social media and the impact it had on its spread and public reaction. We then look at the ways forward in which the role of social media (as well as other digital platforms) can be integrated into social and public health, for a better symbiosis, “digital balance” and pandemic preparedness for the ongoing crisis and the future.

scholarly journals The Dawn for a New Antitrust Law Framework for Digital Platforms, Evidence from an Empirical Comparative Analysis of EU Antitrust Decisions

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 959-974
Author(s):  
Shahzada Aamir Mushtaq ◽  
Fariha Sabahat ◽  
Huma Rao
Keyword(s):  
Data Protection ◽  
Digital Economy ◽  
Antitrust Law ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Digital Platforms ◽  
Industrial Economy ◽  
Market Participants ◽  
New Concepts ◽  
Consumer Data ◽  
Critical Resource

The Digital platforms are a unique creation of the late 20th and early 21st centuries. The digital economy may have replaced the industrial economy, but the rules created to oversee the fair operation of the industrial economy have not kept pace with that evolution. The digitalization of the economy with consumer data as a new critical resource is an advancement of a technological revolution which needs an adaptation of regulatory framework for markets and the world economy. This paper analyzed the privacy and data protection concerns in the digital economy from an economic perspective of small and medium-sized enterprises. The tech giants, by controlling user's data are exploiting it for their own commercial benefits and inflicting the threats to the privacy of users.  This paper intends to shed light that it's not enough to look for policy solutions only within the competition or data protection law. Rather an integrated move from various regulatory perspectives is necessary. Therefore, the article focuses that the formalistic approach to article 101 and 102 of TFEU (Treaty On The Functioning OF The European Union which the EU Commission usually adopted as an effects-based approach) to counter exploitative, exclusionary practices, and potential harm to consumers is efficacious to regulate the digital platforms. Furthermore, this research presses the necessity of how the abusive conduct of data-driven entrants be regularized by forwarding the new concepts of antitrust law and its effective enforcement across the globe. The digital platforms have fundamentally changed the ways we interact with news, with each other, and with governments and business. Digital platforms act as intermediaries which connect two or more market participants via the platform and simplify their interaction.

scholarly journals What is a 'Real' Transaction? Infrastructures, relations and Spoofing in High-Frequency Trading

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juan Pablo Pardo Guerra
Keyword(s):  
Financial Markets ◽  
High Frequency ◽  
High Frequency Trading ◽  
Market Behavior ◽  
Digital Platforms ◽  
Market Participants

Although an old and rare practice, spoofing has re-emerged as a subject ofintense debate within modern financial markets. An activity entailing thefraudulent creation of orders to buy and sell securities with the purposeof manipulating the market, spoofing highlights the multiple and complexmoral valences of contemporary, automated, finance. In this paper, I studyspoofing as an opportunity to understand markets and their relations ofexchange. In particular, by extending Weberian metaphors of markets asmoral and organizational communities, I examine how the courts and marketparticipants distinguish the ‘false’ transactions of spoofing from the‘real’ exchanges of 'normal' market behavior. Combining Marilyn Strathern’stheoretical discussion of the anthropological relation with recentliteratures on infrastructures and markets, I argue that the perceivedreality of transactions is a product of how novel forms of economicknowledge are able to make sense of ‘taken for granted’ behavioral patternswithin digital platforms of market action. The intent that constitutes‘real’ trades is therefore a product of how market participants, economicexperts and the courts interpret the operational underbelly of markets andthe relations that they produce.

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