Users author a public-facing text while surveillance capitalism captures a hidden second text

Evidence

Surveillance capitalism’s command of the division of learning in society begins with what I call the problem of the two texts. The specific mechanisms of surveillance capitalism compel the production of two “electronic texts,” not just one. When it comes to the first text, we are its authors and readers. This public-facing text is familiar and celebrated for the universe of information and connection it brings to our fingertips. Google Search codifies the informational content of the world wide web. Facebook’s News Feed binds the network. Much of this public-facing text is composed of what we inscribe on its pages: our posts, blogs, videos, photos, conversations, music, stories, observations, “likes,” tweets, and all the great massing hubbub of our lives captured and communicated. — Shoshana Zuboff, The Age of Surveillance Capitalism, 584

Categorization

• DEFINE: Introduces the ‘two texts’ concept: the user-authored public text versus the hidden behavioral-surplus text.
• SEED: The ‘two texts’ framework offers a sharply quotable mental model for essays about algorithmic curation and data extraction.
• XREF: connects to: Surveillance of social text drives people toward perfunctory, impersonal communication — Shoshana Zuboff, The Age of Surveillance Capitalism, 844; Surveillance capitalism exploits the human hunger for recognition — Shoshana Zuboff, The Age of Surveillance Capitalism, 797; Publics form through circulation of texts among strangers rather than shared identity — , The Braided Reading EPUB: 5-Year…, 377 (+4 more)

Broader Connections

• Surveillance of social text drives people toward perfunctory, impersonal communication #expands (0.82) — Shoshana Zuboff, The Age of Surveillance Capitalism, 844
• Surveillance capitalism subordinates earlier user reciprocities to derivative extraction for others’ aims #expands (0.80) — Shoshana Zuboff, The Age of Surveillance Capitalism, 298
• Surveillance capitalism exploits both extraction and our voluntary surrender via interfaces #expands (0.78) — Shoshana Zuboff, The Age of Surveillance Capitalism, 734
• Surveillance capitalism exploits the human hunger for recognition #expands (0.75) — Shoshana Zuboff, The Age of Surveillance Capitalism, 797
• Surveillance capitalists deliberately conceal how their platforms monetize user behavior #expands (0.75) — Shoshana Zuboff, The Age of Surveillance Capitalism, 1411
• Publics form through circulation of texts among strangers rather than shared identity #qualifies (0.72) — , The Braided Reading EPUB, 377
• Surveillance capitalism feeds on the social transformations it causes #complicates (0.72) — Shoshana Zuboff, The Age of Surveillance Capitalism, 1104