research preview: locating value in spreadable media
In preparation for the C3 sponsoring partner’s retreat in May, I though I’d share a brief(ish) summary of the research I’m getting ready to present there.
More then Money Can Buy: Locating Value in Spreadable Media
In our white paper “If It Doesn’t Spread, It’s Dead,” we propose that information and cultural materials — such as brands and advertisements — now circulate within a media landscape that is governed by both “commodity” market exchanges and non-market “gift” exchanges. Stemming from that work, the central goal of this white paper is map out and compare the social and cultural mechanisms that regulate these different systems of exchange. In doing so, I hope to provide insights on how to think about what value means in a spreadable media environment.
This research challenges the recent buzz around so-called “free” economies, led by wired editor Chris Anderson. I suggest that these examples of “free” goods and services available online are in fact, not free at all. They are only free if we continue to operate on the assumption that money remains the only thing of value. Moreover, this type of language is precisely what causes misunderstandings and controversy between companies and their user-base, such as the recent blow-up over facebook terms of services. In we continue to talk about these systems as “free,” we perpetuate the perception that there is no transaction taking place and overlook the forms of value that users are returning to companies in exchange for services. We must stop speaking as if social worth, brand goodwill, and fan advocacy are lucky byproducts and begin to examine what the new standards and regulations of value is in these emergent systems.
Central to this paper is a careful breakdown of the different forms of value present in every system of exchange — use-value, exchange-value, and symbolic value — as well as how these values operate differently and are worth different things and carry different meanings in market and non-market regulated exchanges. I outline some of the defining social logics of market exchanges beyond the use of money in order to better understand the potential accordances and challenges in trying to operate between market and non-market systems.
From there, the paper discusses models of what I’ve come to call “divergence” economies that characterize the Spreadable Media environment. Here, the use of “divergence” instead of “hybrid” is deliberate. It is meant to signal that we are looking at systems of exchange that move media and value back and forth between market and non-market systems, rather than fusing the two seamlessly. I seek to make the point that we must consider how to accomodate and transform the different types of value involved and satisfy the terms of both systems of exchange. Finally, through case studies, outline how — and perhaps more importantly where — we can find value in the spreadable media landscape.
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