Within tech culture, status must arrive as innovation, not as self-marketing
Evidence
There are clearly tensions inherent in Web 2.0’s combination of entrepreneurial capitalism and techno-utopianism. To achieve high status, one must be committed to the entrepreneurial startup culture, engage in self-conscious self-marketing, network continually, or do a combination of all three. Yet although the business of technology and social media may value and reward attention and wealth as much as technological knowledge and innovation, it is the knowledge and innovation piece that “really” matters. Status is crucial, but it must be the right kind of status. — Alice E. Marwick, Status Update, 265
Categorization
- XREF: The ‘right kind of status’ tension parallels the reluctant-fundamentalist self-presentation norms and Marwick’s broader theme of inauthenticity policing; also resonates with influencer-culture debates over ‘self-made’ vs ‘hustler’ branding. — connects to: Tech status requires wealth expressed through idealistic, non-flashy self-improvement — Alice E. Marwick, Status Update: Celebrity, Publicity,…, 179; Technology scene status is conferred through one’s position in business — Alice E. Marwick, Status Update: Celebrity, Publicity,…, 181; Self-help tech gurus succeed by affirming, not challenging, tech culture’s core values — Alice E. Marwick, Status Update: Celebrity, Publicity,…, 463 (+3 more)
- QUESTION: How exactly is the line drawn between legitimate innovation-status and illegitimate attention-seeking-status, and who gets to adjudicate it?
Broader Connections
- Tech status requires wealth expressed through idealistic, non-flashy self-improvement
#corroborates(0.85) — Alice E. Marwick, Status Update, 179 - Technology scene status is conferred through one’s position in business
#complicates(0.80) — Alice E. Marwick, Status Update, 181 - Self-help tech gurus succeed by affirming, not challenging, tech culture’s core values
#qualifies(0.75) — Alice E. Marwick, Status Update, 463