The People's Platform : Taking Back Power and Culture in the Digital Age (9780007525614)
From a cutting-edge cultural commentator, a bold and brilliant challenge to cherished notions of the internet as the great leveler of our age. The internet has been hailed as an unprecedented democratising force, a place where everyone can participate. * So why are minorities and marginalized groups under-represented on user-generated websites, with less than 15% of Wikipedia written by women? * Why does keyword-jammed and star-studded churnalism proliferate, at the expense of in-depth, investigative journalism? * And how have a handful of giant corporations like Facebook, Google and Apple seized control of our creativity, galvanizing individuals to produce content for free? 'The People's Platform' argues that for all our 'sharing', the internet reflects real-world inequalities as much as it reduces them. Attention accrues to those who already have it. Cultural products are increasingly valued more as opportunities for data collection for distributors - content ...