Portfolio Assignment #4

The main concept that I took from Gillespie’s (2010) reading was how the term “platform” can be misleading. It gives the impression that websites that are “platforms” are “open, neutral, egalitarian” and that they provide “progressive support for activity” (Gillespie, p. 352, 2010). However, with certain websites like YouTube, that has been found not to always be true. For example, Gillespie mentioned how YouTube only used to insert advertisements “into videos from commercial partners” (Gillespie, p. 353, 2010). Furthermore, an interesting takeaway from Chayka’s (2019) article was how the use of algorithms by streaming services has created a “monoculture” due to the similarities in the content that media consumers are being recommended. An example of this mentioned in the article was how Spotify’s algorithm for country music has prioritized male artists (Chayka, 2019). It is problematic how algorithms can create certain ideas about culture. Finally, in Naughton’s (2018) article, he mentioned how great “‘user engagement’” is needed for surveillance capitalism to work. This becomes an issue with Facebook because of how users are more interested in fake news (Naughton, 2018). The bias that may come from platforms and algorithms relates to my own experience because sometimes I am recommended movies or shows on Netflix that I would typically not be interested in. Additionally, it is tempting to watch such programs when I have heard about them from others. So when they are recommended to me by Netflix, it just makes it easier to decide to watch it without thinking about it.

Relating back to the keyword, “flow,” which is the “exchange of information,” Braman (2016), noted that it has “both distributive and capital-accumulating options” (p. 119). Thus, algorithms are a way that platforms profit or accumulate capital off of the information of their users. Additionally, the “discursive work” that comes with the word “flow” is that because it is so essential to the functions of systems, its multiple purposes may be overlooked (Braman, 2016, p. 120). For instance, Braman (2016) wrote that “systems are central to the concept of flow used in work on what it is that keeps users attracted to new technologies” (p. 120). This, of course, can be related back to surveillance capitalism’s dependence on user engagement. However, flow can also be examined when studying the public sphere and digital political communication (Braman, 2016, p. 120). Because it is such a simple word, “flow” may be viewed as simply just being the movement of information without regard to its impact across all systems.