Tech companies promote personal openness because it drives their profits, not democracy
Evidence
Zuckerberg echoes the belief that society is becoming more open, claiming that Facebook is changing its privacy settings to reflect this. But Facebook has a huge vested interest in encouraging people to publicize personal information, since they make money by selling user data and “eyeballs” to marketing firms, data aggregators, and advertisers. The more people depend on Twitter, Foursquare, or Face-book to learn about their friends, the more money their parent companies make. Zuckerberg’s interpretation of “openness” does not cover corporate openness—Facebook and Apple are notoriously tight-lipped—but only personal openness. While people like Larson and Çelik are well intentioned, selectively revealing information to a targeted audience is not the same as, say, coming out as gay in Iraq. They frame openness as socially beneficial, but the tools and culture of Web 2.0 have evolved to promote a particular kind of openness and transparency because it drives profit to social media companies, not because it furthers freedom and democracy. — Alice E. Marwick, Status Update, 622
Categorization
- XREF: Connects to the reader’s interest in influencer/creator culture and to broader critiques of platform capitalism (e.g., Zuboff’s surveillance capitalism). — connects to: Web 2.0 openness ideology serves corporate profit over individual benefit — Alice E. Marwick, Status Update: Celebrity, Publicity,…, 640; Tech companies are best understood as profit-seeking capitalist actors — Nick Srnicek, Platform Capitalism, 14; Tech culture’s self-image conceals a closed system of privilege centered on profit — Alice E. Marwick, Status Update: Celebrity, Publicity,…, 647 (+2 more)
- SEED: Angle for an essay: ‘openness’ as an asymmetrical ideology where corporations demand personal transparency from users while keeping their own operations opaque.
Broader Connections
- Web 2.0 openness ideology serves corporate profit over individual benefit
#corroborates(0.90) — Alice E. Marwick, Status Update, 640 - Tech companies are best understood as profit-seeking capitalist actors
#corroborates(0.85) — Nick Srnicek, Platform Capitalism, 14 - Tech culture’s self-image conceals a closed system of privilege centered on profit
#corroborates(0.80) — Alice E. Marwick, Status Update, 647 - Digital capitalism profits from unpaid pleasurable user activity.
#corroborates(0.75) — Yves Citton, The Ecology of Attention, 197