People's Platform

Astra Taylor - Fourth estate, 2014

 From a cutting-edge cultural commentator, a bold and brilliant challenge to cherished notions of the internet as the great leveler of our age. The internet has been hailed as an unprecedented democratising force, a place where everyone can participate. * So why are minorities and marginalized groups under-represented on user-generated websites, with less than 15% of Wikipedia written by women? * Why does keyword-jammed and star-studded churnalism proliferate, at the expense of in-depth, investigative journalism? * And how have a handful of giant corporations like Facebook, Google and Apple seized control of our creativity, galvanizing individuals to produce content for free? 'The People's Platform' argues that for all our 'sharing', the internet reflects real-world inequalities as much as it reduces them, as attention and income frequently accrue to those who already have plenty of both. The online world does offer a unique opportunity for greater freedom, but a community that supports the diverse and lasting will not spring up from technology alone. If we want the internet to be a people's platform, we will have to make it so.