Infrastructure studies meet platform studies in the age of Google and Facebook

Infrastructure studies meet platform studies in the age of Google and Facebook

September 2016 | Jean-Christophe Plantin, Carl Lagoze, Paul N. Edwards and Christian Sandvig
The article "Infrastructure studies meet platform studies in the age of Google and Facebook" by Jean-Christophe Plantin, Carl Lagoze, Paul N. Edwards, and Christian Sandvig explores the intersection of two theoretical approaches—infrastructure studies and platform studies—to understand the evolution of digital media. Infrastructure studies focus on the evolution of shared, widely accessible systems and services, often regulated by governments, while platform studies examine how communication and expression are enabled and constrained by new digital systems and media. The authors argue that these two perspectives complement each other, highlighting the tensions between essential, publicly funded infrastructures and profit-driven corporate platforms. Using case studies of the Open Web, Facebook, and Google, the article demonstrates how infrastructure studies provide valuable insights into the evolution of widely accessible services of public value, while platform studies reveal the constraints and affordances of digital artifacts within corporate ecosystems. The authors conclude that the combined framework of infrastructure and platform studies offers a powerful tool for future research, emphasizing the need to balance the benefits of platforms with the public interest and quasi-universal services of infrastructures.The article "Infrastructure studies meet platform studies in the age of Google and Facebook" by Jean-Christophe Plantin, Carl Lagoze, Paul N. Edwards, and Christian Sandvig explores the intersection of two theoretical approaches—infrastructure studies and platform studies—to understand the evolution of digital media. Infrastructure studies focus on the evolution of shared, widely accessible systems and services, often regulated by governments, while platform studies examine how communication and expression are enabled and constrained by new digital systems and media. The authors argue that these two perspectives complement each other, highlighting the tensions between essential, publicly funded infrastructures and profit-driven corporate platforms. Using case studies of the Open Web, Facebook, and Google, the article demonstrates how infrastructure studies provide valuable insights into the evolution of widely accessible services of public value, while platform studies reveal the constraints and affordances of digital artifacts within corporate ecosystems. The authors conclude that the combined framework of infrastructure and platform studies offers a powerful tool for future research, emphasizing the need to balance the benefits of platforms with the public interest and quasi-universal services of infrastructures.
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[slides and audio] Infrastructure studies meet platform studies in the age of Google and Facebook