The Invisible Worker | Issue 2 | The Digital Labourer

When we think about our relationship to the web services we use, we tend to situate ourselves as users. But whether you’re using Facebook, Google Maps, Twitter or Candy Crush Saga, understanding your relationship with these web platforms as one of user and provider, misses out on the vital role that you play in creating value and helping the owners to turn a profit. The labour that you provide in creating content, building data sets, and engaging with advertising, provides the basic model by which the companies that make them extract value. Issue 2 explores the types of unwaged work that we do online, from social media sites, to geolocation apps. It explores what this work is, how it is used, why it matters and what alternatives exist.

When we think about our relationship to the web services we use, we tend to situate ourselves as users. But whether you’re using Facebook, Google Maps, Twitter or Candy Crush Saga, understanding your relationship with these web platforms as one of user and provider, misses out on the vital role that you play in creating value and helping the owners to turn a profit. The labour that you provide in creating content, building data sets, and engaging with advertising, provides the basic model by which the companies that make them extract value. Issue 2 explores the types of unwaged work that we do online, from social media sites, to geolocation apps. It explores what this work is, how it is used, why it matters and what alternatives exist.