The Culture of Connectivity

The Culture of Connectivity: A Critical History of Social Media is a book by José van Dijck published by Oxford University Press in 2013 on social media platforms and their history.[1] The author critically considers the histories of five social media platforms: Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, YouTube and Wikipedia. Van Dijck's approach is based on the premise that to understand the full weight of social media, their technological dimensions should be connected to the social and the cultural.

The Culture of Connectivity: A Critical History of Social Media
AuthorJosé van Dijck
LanguageEnglish
PublisherOxford University Press
Publication date
2013
Media typePrint (Paperback)
Pages228 pp
ISBN978-0-19-997078-0

The title of the work alludes to how the rise of social media has created a culture in which a (profitable) connectivity is dominant.

Synopsis

In the book, Van Dijck critically reads the histories of five social media platforms according to an approach that brings into focus how their technological, social and cultural dimensions contribute to their current status.

Key concepts
Platforms as Techno-Cultural Constructs
Van Dijck contends that any analysis of social media platforms has to originate from the level of technology. Borrowing from Actor–network theory, Van Dijck approaches the three concepts of technology, users and usage and content firstly in each of her analysis chapters.
Technology
Users and Usage
Content
Platforms as Socio-Economic Structures
Borrowing from the field of Political economy, Van Dijck then continues with questioning ownership, governance and business model(s) of the respective platforms to come to a critical conclusion.
Ownership
Governance
Business Models

References
  1. The Culture of Connectivity, Oxford University Press
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