The Economic Lives of Platforms
Rethinking the Political Economy of Digital Markets
Edited by Anne Mette Thorhauge, Andreas Lindegaard Gregersen, Eva Iris Otto, Jacob Ørmen and Morten Axel Pedersen
Published
Jun 26, 2024Page count
198 pagesISBN
978-1529237498Dimensions
234 x 156 mmImprint
Bristol University PressPublished
Jun 26, 2024Page count
198 pagesISBN
978-1529237504Dimensions
234 x 156 mmImprint
Bristol University PressPublished
Jun 26, 2024Page count
198 pagesISBN
978-1529237504Dimensions
234 x 156 mmImprint
Bristol University Press
The Economic Lives of Platforms
This interdisciplinary collection rethinks the political economy of the digital market by asking what came before platforms and suggesting what might come after them.
By unpacking the concept of ‘platform economies’ into locally embedded variations of digital markets, the book identifies what is new about contemporary platforms and what is characteristic of wider historical, social and economic currents.
The diverse team of authors employ various analytical approaches, including in-depth ethnographic studies, and theoretical and analytical reconceptualizations of platforms and the industries they encompass.
Tapping into current themes including the decolonisation of the internet, this book offers a timely assessment of the implications of emerging reconfigurations between technology, information, society and markets.
"This diverse set of empirically rigorous and conceptually nuanced inquiries combine to offer a refreshingly multi-sided vantage on platforms and their role in digital markets." Natasha D. Schüll, New York University
“A compelling collection of essays on platform economies, which underlines the multifaceted nature of platforms from an economic perspective and provides a comprehensive critical framework for their study.” Alessandro Gandini, University of Milan
Anne Mette Thorhauge is Associate Professor in the Department of Communication at the University of Copenhagen.
Andreas Lindegaard Gregersen is Associate Professor in the Department of Communication at the University of Copenhagen.
Eva Iris Otto is Postdoctoral Researcher in the Department of Communication at the University of Copenhagen.
Jacob Ørmen is Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication at the University of Copenhagen.
Morten Axel Pedersen is Professor in the Department of Anthropology and Director of the Copenhagen Centre for Social Data Science (SODAS) at the University of Copenhagen.
1. Rethinking the Political Economy of Digital Markets – Anne Mette Thorhauge, Andreas Gregersen, Eva Iris Otto, Jacob Ørmen and Morten Axel Pedersen
2. Modes of Connectivity: On the Economic Ontology of Platforms – Vincent Manzerolle
3. Platforms and the Social Imaginary of Ordinary Life – Juan M. del Nido
4. Burdens of Legacy: Enumerative Accountability in Digital Markets – Vibodh Parthasarathi
5. Voice Intelligence and the Future of Engagement Metrics on Commercial Platforms – Joseph Turow
6. Brokering Data Markets: The Agentive Power of App Builders at the Edge of Platforms – Eva Iris Otto
7. The Political Economic Process of "Platformization": The Historical Trajectory of Alibaba – Elaine J. Yuan and Lin Zhang
8. Efficient and Illegitimate: Legitimacy Problems In the Platform Model – Andreas Gregersen and Jacob Ørmen
9. Player-Driven Economies and ‘Money At The Margins’: Game Items as Contingent Commodity Money – Anne Mette Thorhauge
10. After the Attention Economy: A Postdigital Anthropology of the Future - Morten Axel Pedersen
