#audiencecommodity — Public Fediverse posts

In episode 14 we exapt an old #shadowrun term for newbies entering the #fediverse who may be experiencing #dumpshock and we draw together the threads from earlier episodes on the #audiencecommodity and #socialmedia to talk about that new user experience.

In 2023, for a lot of #internet users, they no longer have a frame of reference of what an ad-free internet might be like.

I liked this one a lot; it was fun to bring the threads together.

#implausipod #podcast

https://www.implausipod.com/1935232/13608737-implausipod-e0014-dumpshock

Episode 8: The Audience Commodity

With the relaunch, we started by framing the events on #socialmedia of June 2023 through the lens of the #audiencecommodity a key piece of #academic work on #communications critical of existing approaches. 45 years later, I think it still holds up, and helps explain much of the business model of the modern #advertising web.

https://www.implausipod.com/1935232/13185814-implausipod-e0008-audience-commodity

11/ Note: Smythe goes on for 4 pages in 6, above. It's his key point and there's a lot to unpack.

Q7): Does the #audiencecommodity perform an essential #economic function?
A) it's complicated. As noted above, orthodox theories didn't really go into this, and #massmedia and brands were before #marx 's time, so he didn't say much about them either.

Smythe turns to the #grundrisse to tease out an answer: "production produces consumption" p.91-2 (that whole paragraph).

So, yes: essential.

9/ Q5): "What is the nature of the service performed for the advertiser by members of the purchased audiences?
A): The #audiencecommodity is "a non-durable producer's good bought and used in the marketing of the advertiser's product".

The work the audience does is to learn to buy and consume various brands of products, and spend their income accordingly.

If they can develop #brand loyalty while doing this, even better

4/ So if the trad, orthodox, normal #economics view of #masscommunication gets it wrong, what do they produce?

What is the #commodity form of #advertising sponsored comms under #latecapitalism ?

#audiences and readerships

The #audiencecommodity

Here the work, the #laborpower of the workers is resold to the #advertisers

This is nominally the "consciousness industry".

Remember: TV stations and walled #platforms on the internet are factories that produce audiences for advertisers

/2 So what is the question Smythe is trying to answer when it comes to the #audiencecommodity ?

Basically, "what economic functions for capital do mass #communications systems serve?"

(And #google and #facebook both fit in with the mass in mass communications here).

I'm order to figure out this function, you need to figure out what the commodity they produce actually is.

You might think you know the whole "if you're not paying, you're the product" line.

This is part of that.

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With looming introduction of #threads and the subsequent integration with the #fediverse I thought a quick summary of a key piece of #economics literature is in order. Likely too late, but perhaps not.

Basically, what is #facebook or #meta business model?

The production of the #audiencecommodity

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(This is from 1977, by Dallas W. Smythe, so some of it may seem obvious in retrospect. Please read it through.)

(Also I'm posting as I go, so it might take a bit).