No subject

cultural (and immaterial) form. With the so called "web 2.0
revolution," we find that consumers are, in their leisure time, also
becoming producers. But in this case, they are performing unpaid labor
in the service of major corporations. Whereas once corporations had to
pay workers to produce content for individuals to consume during their
so called "free time," now consumers are producing such content
themselves, for free! (This gives a whole new meaning to the term
"free time"). Insofar as this production occurs on large corporate
websites, such as MySpace and Facebook, consumer-producers are in fact
allowing themselves to be exploited, creating capital (and surplus
value) for the large corporations without receiving any compensation.

V. The Struggle for Everyday Life

Despite the overwhelming colonization of everyday life by the forces
of capitalism, there are always already new possibilities for struggle
opened up by changes in technology including the so called Web 2.0
revolution. Especially, the same technologies used by the major
corporations are also available to individuals and can be used in
alternative ways; mailing lists, blogs, bulletin boards, and personal
websites offer the possibility to produce critical thought and to act
in non-productive ways that do not strengthen the system. Indeed,
while overall the Facebook phenomena is an example of a new form of
exploitation of immaterial labor, its content is ambivalent; one can
imagine a Karl Marx or Theodor Adorno Facebook page, that uses the
technology precisely in order to spread critical thinking that weakens
the system, dispels ideology, and breaks through reified and false
consciousness. One can also organize anti-capitalist and subversive
actions more effectively using the internet, cell phones, and Web 2.0
technologies. As long as capitalism exists there will also exist the
possibility for anti-capitalist action, a possibility that lays the
groundwork for future revolution.

***

This is obviously just an outline, and the essay itself will require
extensive research to complete. Constructive comments would be greatly
appreciated.

David Powers
March 5, 2009