In contemporary ‘platformised’ societies, digital businesses play a key role in producing and rep... more In contemporary ‘platformised’ societies, digital businesses play a key role in producing and reproducing romantic cultures. In this article, we explore how the digital industry of dating has translated existing romantic cultures into datafied algorithmic infrastructures. We do so by looking at the interplay between the interconnected dimensions of a) existing mainstream cultures of love and sex, b) their datafication and codification into dating apps, and c) how the latter produce a new understanding of dating that is functional to create digital enclosures. Drawing on existing scholarly research as well as original qualitative data, we argue that dating apps reproduce dating as a de-romanticised social practice which is part of a digital lifestyle organised around a reputational logic.
This Cultural Commons article provide some coordinates that help explain why cryptocurrencies hav... more This Cultural Commons article provide some coordinates that help explain why cryptocurrencies have recently become mainstream, indicating their connection to precarisation and new class formations. It considers how this change has been achieved by examining the impact of ICTs (information and communications technologies) on the process of socialisation and re-signification of finance. Finally, it explores how these shifts might be related to the emergence of a peculiar form of digital and cultural commons. It grants that this last idea might appear odd, far-fetched, or downright inappropriate, since investment by individuals for individual profit is a defining characteristic of the realm of crypto-finance. It hopes to show, however, that what lies behind these individualised actions is an ambivalence in which exploitation coexists with a redefinition of the genetic code of finance, giving rise to a shared culture and a commoning of resources.
Piccolo manuale di cura collettiva a partire dall'esperienza specifica di SopraSotto. - "... more Piccolo manuale di cura collettiva a partire dall'esperienza specifica di SopraSotto. - "Come aprire un nido pirata nel quartiere" è un piccolo manuale che racconta, partendo da un'esperienza specifica, come si costruisce uno spazio per la cura collettiva di bambini e bambine in età da nido. Autogestito da genitori e insegnanti, il laboratorio SopraSotto nasce a Milano nel 2013 come risposta attiva all'insufficienza di posti nei nidi pubblici – problema diffuso principalmente nelle grandi metropoli. Senza pretesa di completezza, questo manuale racconta come una comunità di oltre una cinquantina di famiglie, accomunate da forme lavorative "atipiche", ha costruito attraverso l'organizzazione, la partecipazione e alcuni dispositivi digitali, un'alternativa che sembra funzionare: un luogo sensibile alle trasformazioni in corso dei tempi vita/lavoro, e una comunità che contrasta la solitudine come condizione diffusa di molti giovani genitori. INDIC...
In May 2012 a skyscraper was occupied in Milan by a group of artists and art workers which gather... more In May 2012 a skyscraper was occupied in Milan by a group of artists and art workers which gathered around Macao, claiming a new role for art and culture in society. The paper investigates the role of digital communication practices in Macao's contentious action. Starting from an overview of the ongoing debate about the relationship between digital media and political protest, the contribution shows the eccentricity of Macao with respect to three already established analytical models: the logic of connective action (Bennett and Segerberg 2013), the concept of communicative cultures (Kavada 2012), and the logic of aggregation (Juris 2012). On the basis of the empirical analysis of media practices (Couldry 2012) together with the critical discourse analysis (Fairclough 1992) of the symbolic production of Macao, the article will propose the notion of «eventful logic» as a new pragmatic concept through which the strategies and the logics of collective action through social media can...
In May 2012 a skyscraper was occupied in Milan by a group of artists and art workers which gather... more In May 2012 a skyscraper was occupied in Milan by a group of artists and art workers which gathered around Macao, claiming a new role for art and culture in society. The paper investigates the role of digital communication practices in Macao's contentious action. Starting from an overview of the ongoing debate about the relationship between digital media and political protest, the contribution shows the eccentricity of Macao with respect to three already established analytical models: the logic of connective action (Bennett and Segerberg 2013), the concept of communicative cultures (Kavada 2012), and the logic of aggregation (Juris 2012). On the basis of the empirical analysis of media practices (Couldry 2012) together with the critical discourse analysis (Fairclough 1992) of the symbolic production of Macao, the article will propose the notion of \uabeventful logic\ubb as a new pragmatic concept through which the strategies and the logics of collective action through social media can be satisfactorily explained
This chapter is concerned with offering an understanding of the main traits that characterise the... more This chapter is concerned with offering an understanding of the main traits that characterise the subjectivity of these social actors, and assess their emergence and significance. Building on individual ethnographic fieldwork conducted in various contexts between 2011-2014, we offer an ex-post reflection that draws from each author’s empirical research to provide a better understanding of the role these subjects play in the meeting of collaboration and creativity. These, we will argue, represent - each with its own peculiar features - an accurate illustration of the process of reshaping of the creative economy in the shift towards collaboration and sharing – a shift one encounters in the confluence of emergent ‘alternative’ economic perspectives in the aftermath of the financial crisis and the rise of forms of economic valorisation that are increasingly rooted in the social (Arvidsson and Peitersen, 2013). Within this scenario, freelancers, social entrepreneurs and artists have inte...
Coworking spaces have been affirmed in recent years as a mainstream, ‘neo-corporate’ model of fle... more Coworking spaces have been affirmed in recent years as a mainstream, ‘neo-corporate’ model of flexible work in post-recession, urban knowledge economies. However, there is growing evidence of spaces that apply the discourses and practices of the coworking movement in ways that are alternative to the neo-corporate paradigm, both in urban and non-urban contexts. Exploring the ethos and practices of an urban co-operative space in London and a rural innovation hub in Southern Italy, the article illustrates the emergence of coworking endeavours that set in opposition to the neo-corporate model, and describes them as ‘resilient’. We show that resilient coworking spaces are organisational actors that interact with the surrounding context much more than their counterparts, blending entrepreneurial logics with forms of political and social activism. We argue their emergence might be the harbinger of a new phase in the evolution of the coworking phenomenon.
Artists and creative workers are engaged once more in the social and political space. In the curr... more Artists and creative workers are engaged once more in the social and political space. In the current wave, which started in the early 2010s, they have taken part in broad social movements (e.g., Occupy, Tahrir Square), created movements of their own (e.g., Network of Occupied Theaters in Italy and Greece), experimented with alternative economic models and currencies (e.g., Macao and D-CENT), carried out social research and radical education, partnered with institutional and social actors, supported neighborhoods, filled the void left by states’ retreat from the social, and hosted and co-produced art at a time when the budget for culture and independent art is being decreased in numerous countries across the world. This article aims to investigate the organizational and relational aspects of artistic social movements. Drawing on a 2-year-long ethnographic study conducted for my PhD dissertation and deploying a number of research techniques, including participant observation, digital ...
This article examines the significance of digital entrepreneurship in East Asia as informal work,... more This article examines the significance of digital entrepreneurship in East Asia as informal work, based on empirical research in Taiwan and Thailand. Digital entrepreneurs in East Asia can be thought of as a new class of ‘creative workers’ who aspire to the neoliberal ideals of the West that advocate free markets and individualism. While digital entrepreneurship offers low-cost opportunities, it also represents highly precarious careers. The transition to the digital economy also means the expansion of the informal economy, which has existed in both Taiwan and Thailand. The encouragement of start-up ecosystems by respective political and economic elites serves to sweet-talk the creative class into participating in precarious work, or it may be an open bid to gain market share by incorporating informal businesses. In response to the theme of the special issue, this article discusses two contrasting cases and considers the significance of digital entrepreneurship as informalisation of...
Abstract In May 5, 2012, a group of artists and cultural workers occupied a 33-storeys abandoned ... more Abstract In May 5, 2012, a group of artists and cultural workers occupied a 33-storeys abandoned skyscraper in Milan, founding Macao or the “New Centre for Arts, Culture and Research”. It was an event, with thousands of people joining in, newspapers headlines, and a massive flow of social media activity. Along with spaces, they claimed a new role for art and culture in society. Macao constitutes one of the last nodes of the national network of occupied theatres, which spread out in Italy from early 2011. This case is explored with the aim of understanding to what extent Macao, and more in general the global wave of art activism, constitutes an alternative to the neo-libel articulation of the creative city in Milan. On the one hand, we ask whether Macao is a political actor able to influence the local cultural policy and to what extent it is included in the urban governance of Milan. Related questions concern Macao claims and expectancies, and its possible process of normalization. On the other hand, we evaluate Macao’s role into the cultural milieu at different levels (local, national, international). We will argue that Macao not only is an actor included in the urban governance, but also it provides the city a different cultural offer, open to bottom-up processes.
This paper summarizes three years of ethnographic work on Commons Based Peer Production communiti... more This paper summarizes three years of ethnographic work on Commons Based Peer Production communities within the research project P2PValue, funded by the European Commission. Key insights are: • CBPP is part of a broader transformation in the information economy whereby collaboration and common knowledge have come to play an ever more important part in value creation. This development has roots that go back to the industrial revolution in the 19th century and it has been greatly accelerated by the diffusion of digital media. CBPP or CBPP like modes of production have become a core component to the contemporary information economy as a whole. • CBPP occurs in highly particular kinds of communities. They are not kept together by frequent interaction or a tight web of social relations. Instead they are kept together by sharing a common imaginary that posits a transformative potential on the part of the particular practice to which these communities are dedicated. • Contributions to this potential through technical skills and/or virtuous conduct is rewarded with reputation. Reputation is the form of that exchange value takes in CBPP communities, it is the 'fictious commodity' typical to CBPP. • Reputation is also the most important value form that structures transactions between CBPP and other institutional logics, such as that of markets, capitalism and the state. • The value of reputation lies in its ability to give a proximate measure to risk. • The fact that value is principally related to risk means that CBPP communities operate a value logic that mirror that of financial markets. • Most CBPP communities envision commons based markets as alternatives to capitalism. Such commons-based markets build on the construction of imaginaries that are able to transform insecurity into risk in ways that mirror communitarian principles.
supervisor: A. Arvidsson ; co-supervisor: R. Sassatelli ; coordinatrice del programma di dottorat... more supervisor: A. Arvidsson ; co-supervisor: R. Sassatelli ; coordinatrice del programma di dottorato in sociologia: L. Leonini
In contemporary ‘platformised’ societies, digital businesses play a key role in producing and rep... more In contemporary ‘platformised’ societies, digital businesses play a key role in producing and reproducing romantic cultures. In this article, we explore how the digital industry of dating has translated existing romantic cultures into datafied algorithmic infrastructures. We do so by looking at the interplay between the interconnected dimensions of a) existing mainstream cultures of love and sex, b) their datafication and codification into dating apps, and c) how the latter produce a new understanding of dating that is functional to create digital enclosures. Drawing on existing scholarly research as well as original qualitative data, we argue that dating apps reproduce dating as a de-romanticised social practice which is part of a digital lifestyle organised around a reputational logic.
This Cultural Commons article provide some coordinates that help explain why cryptocurrencies hav... more This Cultural Commons article provide some coordinates that help explain why cryptocurrencies have recently become mainstream, indicating their connection to precarisation and new class formations. It considers how this change has been achieved by examining the impact of ICTs (information and communications technologies) on the process of socialisation and re-signification of finance. Finally, it explores how these shifts might be related to the emergence of a peculiar form of digital and cultural commons. It grants that this last idea might appear odd, far-fetched, or downright inappropriate, since investment by individuals for individual profit is a defining characteristic of the realm of crypto-finance. It hopes to show, however, that what lies behind these individualised actions is an ambivalence in which exploitation coexists with a redefinition of the genetic code of finance, giving rise to a shared culture and a commoning of resources.
Piccolo manuale di cura collettiva a partire dall'esperienza specifica di SopraSotto. - "... more Piccolo manuale di cura collettiva a partire dall'esperienza specifica di SopraSotto. - "Come aprire un nido pirata nel quartiere" è un piccolo manuale che racconta, partendo da un'esperienza specifica, come si costruisce uno spazio per la cura collettiva di bambini e bambine in età da nido. Autogestito da genitori e insegnanti, il laboratorio SopraSotto nasce a Milano nel 2013 come risposta attiva all'insufficienza di posti nei nidi pubblici – problema diffuso principalmente nelle grandi metropoli. Senza pretesa di completezza, questo manuale racconta come una comunità di oltre una cinquantina di famiglie, accomunate da forme lavorative "atipiche", ha costruito attraverso l'organizzazione, la partecipazione e alcuni dispositivi digitali, un'alternativa che sembra funzionare: un luogo sensibile alle trasformazioni in corso dei tempi vita/lavoro, e una comunità che contrasta la solitudine come condizione diffusa di molti giovani genitori. INDIC...
In May 2012 a skyscraper was occupied in Milan by a group of artists and art workers which gather... more In May 2012 a skyscraper was occupied in Milan by a group of artists and art workers which gathered around Macao, claiming a new role for art and culture in society. The paper investigates the role of digital communication practices in Macao's contentious action. Starting from an overview of the ongoing debate about the relationship between digital media and political protest, the contribution shows the eccentricity of Macao with respect to three already established analytical models: the logic of connective action (Bennett and Segerberg 2013), the concept of communicative cultures (Kavada 2012), and the logic of aggregation (Juris 2012). On the basis of the empirical analysis of media practices (Couldry 2012) together with the critical discourse analysis (Fairclough 1992) of the symbolic production of Macao, the article will propose the notion of «eventful logic» as a new pragmatic concept through which the strategies and the logics of collective action through social media can...
In May 2012 a skyscraper was occupied in Milan by a group of artists and art workers which gather... more In May 2012 a skyscraper was occupied in Milan by a group of artists and art workers which gathered around Macao, claiming a new role for art and culture in society. The paper investigates the role of digital communication practices in Macao's contentious action. Starting from an overview of the ongoing debate about the relationship between digital media and political protest, the contribution shows the eccentricity of Macao with respect to three already established analytical models: the logic of connective action (Bennett and Segerberg 2013), the concept of communicative cultures (Kavada 2012), and the logic of aggregation (Juris 2012). On the basis of the empirical analysis of media practices (Couldry 2012) together with the critical discourse analysis (Fairclough 1992) of the symbolic production of Macao, the article will propose the notion of \uabeventful logic\ubb as a new pragmatic concept through which the strategies and the logics of collective action through social media can be satisfactorily explained
This chapter is concerned with offering an understanding of the main traits that characterise the... more This chapter is concerned with offering an understanding of the main traits that characterise the subjectivity of these social actors, and assess their emergence and significance. Building on individual ethnographic fieldwork conducted in various contexts between 2011-2014, we offer an ex-post reflection that draws from each author’s empirical research to provide a better understanding of the role these subjects play in the meeting of collaboration and creativity. These, we will argue, represent - each with its own peculiar features - an accurate illustration of the process of reshaping of the creative economy in the shift towards collaboration and sharing – a shift one encounters in the confluence of emergent ‘alternative’ economic perspectives in the aftermath of the financial crisis and the rise of forms of economic valorisation that are increasingly rooted in the social (Arvidsson and Peitersen, 2013). Within this scenario, freelancers, social entrepreneurs and artists have inte...
Coworking spaces have been affirmed in recent years as a mainstream, ‘neo-corporate’ model of fle... more Coworking spaces have been affirmed in recent years as a mainstream, ‘neo-corporate’ model of flexible work in post-recession, urban knowledge economies. However, there is growing evidence of spaces that apply the discourses and practices of the coworking movement in ways that are alternative to the neo-corporate paradigm, both in urban and non-urban contexts. Exploring the ethos and practices of an urban co-operative space in London and a rural innovation hub in Southern Italy, the article illustrates the emergence of coworking endeavours that set in opposition to the neo-corporate model, and describes them as ‘resilient’. We show that resilient coworking spaces are organisational actors that interact with the surrounding context much more than their counterparts, blending entrepreneurial logics with forms of political and social activism. We argue their emergence might be the harbinger of a new phase in the evolution of the coworking phenomenon.
Artists and creative workers are engaged once more in the social and political space. In the curr... more Artists and creative workers are engaged once more in the social and political space. In the current wave, which started in the early 2010s, they have taken part in broad social movements (e.g., Occupy, Tahrir Square), created movements of their own (e.g., Network of Occupied Theaters in Italy and Greece), experimented with alternative economic models and currencies (e.g., Macao and D-CENT), carried out social research and radical education, partnered with institutional and social actors, supported neighborhoods, filled the void left by states’ retreat from the social, and hosted and co-produced art at a time when the budget for culture and independent art is being decreased in numerous countries across the world. This article aims to investigate the organizational and relational aspects of artistic social movements. Drawing on a 2-year-long ethnographic study conducted for my PhD dissertation and deploying a number of research techniques, including participant observation, digital ...
This article examines the significance of digital entrepreneurship in East Asia as informal work,... more This article examines the significance of digital entrepreneurship in East Asia as informal work, based on empirical research in Taiwan and Thailand. Digital entrepreneurs in East Asia can be thought of as a new class of ‘creative workers’ who aspire to the neoliberal ideals of the West that advocate free markets and individualism. While digital entrepreneurship offers low-cost opportunities, it also represents highly precarious careers. The transition to the digital economy also means the expansion of the informal economy, which has existed in both Taiwan and Thailand. The encouragement of start-up ecosystems by respective political and economic elites serves to sweet-talk the creative class into participating in precarious work, or it may be an open bid to gain market share by incorporating informal businesses. In response to the theme of the special issue, this article discusses two contrasting cases and considers the significance of digital entrepreneurship as informalisation of...
Abstract In May 5, 2012, a group of artists and cultural workers occupied a 33-storeys abandoned ... more Abstract In May 5, 2012, a group of artists and cultural workers occupied a 33-storeys abandoned skyscraper in Milan, founding Macao or the “New Centre for Arts, Culture and Research”. It was an event, with thousands of people joining in, newspapers headlines, and a massive flow of social media activity. Along with spaces, they claimed a new role for art and culture in society. Macao constitutes one of the last nodes of the national network of occupied theatres, which spread out in Italy from early 2011. This case is explored with the aim of understanding to what extent Macao, and more in general the global wave of art activism, constitutes an alternative to the neo-libel articulation of the creative city in Milan. On the one hand, we ask whether Macao is a political actor able to influence the local cultural policy and to what extent it is included in the urban governance of Milan. Related questions concern Macao claims and expectancies, and its possible process of normalization. On the other hand, we evaluate Macao’s role into the cultural milieu at different levels (local, national, international). We will argue that Macao not only is an actor included in the urban governance, but also it provides the city a different cultural offer, open to bottom-up processes.
This paper summarizes three years of ethnographic work on Commons Based Peer Production communiti... more This paper summarizes three years of ethnographic work on Commons Based Peer Production communities within the research project P2PValue, funded by the European Commission. Key insights are: • CBPP is part of a broader transformation in the information economy whereby collaboration and common knowledge have come to play an ever more important part in value creation. This development has roots that go back to the industrial revolution in the 19th century and it has been greatly accelerated by the diffusion of digital media. CBPP or CBPP like modes of production have become a core component to the contemporary information economy as a whole. • CBPP occurs in highly particular kinds of communities. They are not kept together by frequent interaction or a tight web of social relations. Instead they are kept together by sharing a common imaginary that posits a transformative potential on the part of the particular practice to which these communities are dedicated. • Contributions to this potential through technical skills and/or virtuous conduct is rewarded with reputation. Reputation is the form of that exchange value takes in CBPP communities, it is the 'fictious commodity' typical to CBPP. • Reputation is also the most important value form that structures transactions between CBPP and other institutional logics, such as that of markets, capitalism and the state. • The value of reputation lies in its ability to give a proximate measure to risk. • The fact that value is principally related to risk means that CBPP communities operate a value logic that mirror that of financial markets. • Most CBPP communities envision commons based markets as alternatives to capitalism. Such commons-based markets build on the construction of imaginaries that are able to transform insecurity into risk in ways that mirror communitarian principles.
supervisor: A. Arvidsson ; co-supervisor: R. Sassatelli ; coordinatrice del programma di dottorat... more supervisor: A. Arvidsson ; co-supervisor: R. Sassatelli ; coordinatrice del programma di dottorato in sociologia: L. Leonini
This article examines the significance of digital entrepreneurship in East Asia as informal work,... more This article examines the significance of digital entrepreneurship in East Asia as informal work, based on empirical research in Taiwan and Thailand. Digital entrepreneurs in East Asia can be thought of as a new class of ‘creative workers’ who aspire to the neoliberal ideals of the West that advocate free markets and individualism. While digital entrepreneurship offers low-cost opportunities, it also represents highly precarious careers. The transition to the digital economy also means the expansion of the informal economy, which has existed in both Taiwan and Thailand. The encouragement of start-up ecosystems by respective political and economic elites serves to sweet-talk the creative class into participating in precarious work, or it may be an open bid to gain market share by incorporating informal businesses. In response to the theme of the special issue, this article discusses two contrasting cases and considers the significance of digital entrepreneurship as informalisation of work.
Artists and creative workers are engaged once more in the social and political space. In the curr... more Artists and creative workers are engaged once more in the social and political space. In the current wave, which started in the early 2010s, they have taken part in broad social movements (e.g., Occupy, Tahrir Square), created movements of their own (e.g., Network of Occupied Theaters in Italy and Greece), experimented with alternative economic models and currencies (e.g., Macao and D-CENT), carried out social research and radical education, partnered with institutional and social actors, supported neighborhoods, filled the void left by states’ retreat from the social, and hosted and co-produced art at a time when the budget for culture and independent art is being decreased in numerous countries across the world. This article aims to investigate the organizational and relational aspects of artistic social movements. Drawing on a 2-year-long ethnographic study conducted for my PhD dissertation and deploying a number of research techniques, including participant observation, digital methods, and semi-structured interviews, I propose a new understanding of the meaning of organization in contemporary artistic social movements. My article, focusing especially on data gathered on Macao, “The New Centre for Arts, Culture and Research of Milan,” constitutes an attempt to reflect on emerging organizational models in social movements.
In May 2012 a skyscraper was occupied in Milan by a group of artists and art workers which gather... more In May 2012 a skyscraper was occupied in Milan by a group of artists and art workers which gathered around Macao, claiming a new role for art and culture in society. The paper investigates the role of digital communication practices in Macao's contentious action. Starting from an overview of the ongoing debate about the relationship between digital media and political protest, the contribution shows the eccentricity of Macao with respect to three already established analytical models: the logic of connective action (Bennett and Segerberg 2013), the concept of communicative cultures (Kavada 2012), and the logic of aggregation (Juris 2012). On the basis of the empirical analysis of media practices (Couldry 2012) together with the critical discourse analysis (Fairclough 1992) of the symbolic production of Macao, the article will propose the notion of «eventful logic» as a new pragmatic concept through which the strategies and the logics of collective action through social media can be satisfactorily explained.
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