PERSPECTIVE
The Social Media Dispositive and Monetization of User-Generated Content
Melita Zajc
Fuchs and also Arvidsson and Colleoni have explored the creation of user-generated content in social media as an economic process. This essay proposes an alternative conceptual approach, arguing that the main value of user involvement in content production is the constitution of individuals as social subjects. To this end, a critique of the traditional Marxist political economy is presented to provide insights into the complex changes in contemporary societies that underlie the growth of user-generated content. The concept of the social media dispositive is introduced as an analytic for studying material practices as well as economic and social aspects of social media.