Introduction

Cyberspace is not a fairy realm of magical transformations. It's a realm of

transformations all right, but since human beings aren't magical fairies
you can pretty much scratch the magic and the fairy part.
-Bruce Sterling

Enter the Digital Enclosure

In the spring of 2006, search engine giant Google announced its
plans to bring the holy grail of next-generation Internet access to
the United States' first city of technology: the entire city of San
Francisco would be equipped with free wireless Internet access. The
company wasn't doing this out of the kindness of its heart or to
rid itself of an embarrassingly large budget surplus; it had a busi-
ness model. In return for free wireless access, Google announced
its plans to use the information it gathered about users' locations
within the city to bombard them with time- and location-specific
ads, or what it calls "contextual advertising." As one press account
put it, "users linking up with Wi-Fi transmitters placed around cit-
ies can be located to within a couple of blocks, allowing [Google] to
serve tightly focused ads on its web pages from small businesses in
the immediate area." 1 If, in other words, you happened to be work-
ing on your laptop in a city park during lunchtime, you might find
an ad on your computer screen for a lunch discount at the sand-
wich shop across the street. Given the fact that Google can also
keep track of the search requests entered into its search engines

[ 1 l
 [ 2 ] CHAPTER ONE

and the e-mail messages sent over its popular Gmail service, it's not hard to The use of the term digitaJ
imagine just how "contextual" the advertising it doles out might eventually sure movement associated w
become. Say you happen to be searching for information about a particular the process whereby over tim
author while working in a neighborhood cafe. Perhaps you might find an trol, allowing private landow
ad for discounts on that author's work in the bookstore around the corner. the enclosure movement lead
Writing a friend about a trip you're planning to take to Las Vegas the fol- own the means of productio1
lowing weekend? Maybe the ad will be for poker how-to manuals instead. to these means, whether arabl
Google's plans for San Francisco represent the physical version of what can be discerned in the emer~
I describe in this book as a digital enclosure-the creation of an interactive privatized interactive spaces (
realm wherein every action and transaction generates information about it- particular forms of monitorir
self.2 Although the term implies a physical space, the same characteristics can conveniences. If you want th(
apply to virtual spaces. The Internet, for example, provides the paradigmatic enter into a financial arrange
example of a virtual digital enclosure-one in which every virtual "move" unwittingly, surrender to the
has the potential to leave a digital trace or record of itself. When we surf the use. As we shall see, this mean
Internet, for example, Internet browsers can gather information about the call and when, but about your
paths we take-the sites we've visited and the clickstreams that take us from types of music you like (based
one site to the next. When we purchase items online, we leave detailed rec- practices that corresponds to 1
ords of our transactions. Even our search requests are logged and preserved Enclosure might be consid
in the database memories of search engines. Google's plans for downtown of the interactive embrace co:
San Francisco are, in other words, merely the implementation of this Inter- forms of transactions can sti
net model in physical space: an attempt to make the city "interactive" by en- books online. But when the le
veloping it within the electromagnetic embrace ofWi-Fi. up with Amazon.com, that rr
I use the term enclosure not just to invoke the notion of a space-vir- find ourselves reliant on mon
tual or otherwise-that is rendered interactive, but also to highlight the pro- example, come with submissi
cess of enclosure, whereby places and activities become encompassed by the Cable companies may not ye
monitoring embrace of an interactive (virtual) space. Accompanying this boxes, but they could. Intern
movement is a not-so-subtle shift in social relations: entry into the digital vider that can collect and stc
enclosure carries with it, in most cases, the condition of surveillance. We can and online activity. Buying m
go into a bookstore and make a cash purchase without generating informa- that a cash purchase in a reco1
tion about the transaction. But when we go online, we generate increasingly use of interactive technologie
detailed forms of transactional information that become secondary infor- eration of cybernetic inform
mation commodities: information that may eventually be sold to third par- selves. This feedback becom~
ties or used by marketers for targeted advertising campaigns. When we turn store, aggregate, sort, and, in 1
on our wireless connection in the San Francisco of the future, we will find form of a database or a cyber
ourselves in a digital enclosure for which the terms of entry include submis- As we equip ourselves wit
sion to always-on, location-based monitoring. reliant on them for everythi1
 INTRODUCTION [ 3 ]

ular Gmail service, it's not hard to The use of the term digital enclosure is also meant to evoke the land enclo-
ising it doles out might eventually sure movement associated with the transition from feudalism to capitalism,
for information about a particular the process whereby over time communal land was subjected to private con-
i cafe. Perhaps you might find an trol, allowing private landowners to set the conditions for its use. Over time,
l the bookstore around the corner. the enclosure movement leads to the formation of distinct classes: those who
ming to take to Las Vegas the fol- own the means of production and those who must sell their labor for access
or poker how-to manuals instead. to these means, whether arable lands or factories. A similar division ofgroups
esent the physical version of what can be discerned in the emerging digital enclosure between those who control
ure-the creation of an interactive privatized interactive spaces (virtual or otherwise), and those who submit to
:)n generates information about it- particular forms of monitoring in order to gain access to goods, services, and
space, the same characteristics can conveniences. If you want the benefits of mobile telephony, not only do you
xample, provides the paradigmatic enter into a financial arrangement with a service provider, you also, perhaps
me in which every virtual "move" unwittingly, surrender to the forms of surveillance associated with cell phone
r record of itself. When we surf the use. As we shall see, this means not only providing information about who you
can gather information about the call and when, but about your movements throughout the course of the day, the
l the clickstreams that take us from types of music you like (based on the ring tones you download), and a range of
terns online, we leave detailed rec- practices that corresponds to the increasing functionality of mobile phones.
1 requests are logged and preserved Enclosure might be considered a "movement" to the extent that the reach
nes. Google's plans for downtown of the interactive embrace continues to expand. At present, many traditional
r the implementation of this Inter- forms of transactions can still take place offline: we don't have to buy our
:) make the city "interactive" by en- books online. But when the local bookstore closes down because it can't keep
1brace ofWi-Fi. up with Amazon.com, that may change. For many services, however, we do
nvoke the notion of a space-vir- find ourselves reliant on monitored transactions: digital video recorders, for
tctive, but also to highlight the pro- example, come with submission to monitoring as a built-in condition of use.
ivities become encompassed by the Cable companies may not yet be using the data they get from their set-top
virtual) space. Accompanying this boxes, but they could. Internet access requires going through a service pro-
:ial relations: entry into the digital vider that can collect and store information about patterns of Internet use
le condition of surveillance. We can and online activity. Buying music online is a monitored transaction in a way
chase without generating informa- that a cash purchase in a record store need not be. There is a pattern here: the
go online, we generate increasingly use of interactive technologies.:.__new media devices-lends itself to the gen-
tion that become secondary infor- eration of cybernetic information: feedback about the transactions them-
nay eventually be sold to third par- selves. This feedback becomes the property of private companies that can
vertising campaigns. When we turn store, aggregate, sort, and, in many cases, sell the information to others in the
rancisco of the future, we will find form of a database or a cybernetic commodity. 3
the terms of entry include submis- As we equip ourselves with interactive devices and become increasingly
mng. reliant on them for everything from talking to one another to listening to
 [ 4 ] CHAPTER ONE

music and buying plane tickets, we find ourselves caught up in privately con- (including, during the 2004 el
trolled networks whose owners set the terms for entry, communication, and timely double meaning, both
transaction. Using a cell phone or credit card these days is deceptively simple: promise of the ability to talk t
communicating and purchasing are streamlined and simplified, but we have lier and more progressive than
very little access to the forms of information collection and circulation that one another, but with market'
are taking place behind the scenes and screens. Companies are able to track Isn't interactivity, like comm1
our movements, transactions, and communications without our permission that can help eliminate misun
or, in many cases, knowledge. An unprecedented level of convenience is en- empower the masses? Isn't it, ii
abled by a network of complex and costly information technology whose society, a technological enharn
increasing functionality is inversely proportional to the typical user's knowl- not just to see and hear, but to
edge about how the system works. Those who live in a wired world know, for To hear some of the more i
example, that shopping has become virtually "friction-free": they can win- called interactive revolution a
dow shop, compare prices, and order products without leaving the privacy of apparent fact that mass societ;
their homes. But they likely have only the vaguest idea about what'happens might have hoped. This celebr
to the information they provide about themselves in the process-their ad- and largely unexamined. The
dresses, product preferences, credit card numbers, clothing sizes, and so on. and indiscriminately through<
Cell phone users know that they can remain in constant contact with friends media (to the point that it h;;
and family, but they might be surprised to know that in some locations, for defined and slippery one that 1
example, their cell phones are being used to track traffic patterns, or that ing in constant contact with f
the pings sent out by their phones, even when they're not using them, allow favorite "American Idol." The t
their paths to be traced throughout the course of the day. Interactivity is not ibility: as one group of researc
necessarily a two-way street; more often than not, it amounts to the offer tain exactly what the concept
of convenience in exchange for willing or unwitting submission to increas- put it, "The academic [and, I
ingly detailed forms of information gathering. This book is about some of marginally inconsistent at best
the ways in which this information is being used-or might be used in the Somewhere in the mix, the
future-and why as citizens and consumers we might want to think carefully of two-way, symmetrical, and
about the relationship between the interactive revolution and the power of sense of knowing where the in
commercial and state institutions over our daily lives. lated to forms of interaction 1
monitoring and surveillance. l
of privacy, not least because the
Interactivity
information is being privatized
Perhaps, when the multimedia histories are assembled, the turn of the cur- their concern over the impend
rent century will be portrayed as the dawn of the iCentury-a period in Sun Micosystems's former CEC
which the prefix signifying the promise of the interactive revolution became story only partly right. 6 It's tn
ubiquitous. The hip, tricky little "i" that appears in front of an increasing trol over information about tl
variety of popular products (many manufactured by Apple) and concepts and purchases, the details of t
 INTRODUCTION [ 5 )

·selves caught up in privately con- (including, during the 2004 election campaign, iPolitics) is freighted with a
ris for entry, communication, and timely double meaning, both solipsistic customization and the democratic
·d these days is deceptively simple: promise of the ability to talk back-to "interact." And what could be friend-
llined and simplified, but we have lier and more progressive than devices that allow us to interact, not just with
~n collection and circulation that one another, but with marketers, celebrities, media outlets, and politicians?
~ens. Companies are able to track Isn't interactivity, like communication, an unadulterated good, something
nications without our permission that can help eliminate misunderstandings, overcome differences, and even
iented level of convenience is en- empower the masses? Isn't it, in fact, the antidote to the depredations of mass
y information technology whose society, a technological enhancement of democratic participation, the ability
tional to the typical user's knowl- not just to see and hear, but to be seen and heard?
ho live in a wired world know, for To hear some of the more upbeat members of the digerati put it, the so-
ally "friction-free": they can win- called interactive revolution arrived just in time to address the increasingly
1cts without leaving the privacy of apparent fact that mass society wasn't turning out to be as democratic as we
vaguest idea about what happens might have hoped. This celebration of interactivity remains both premature
mselves in the process-their ad- and largely unexamined. The term itself, although scattered enthusiastically
umbers, clothing sizes, and so on. and indiscriminately throughout popular and academic descriptions of new
n in constant contact with friends media (to the point that it has entered the spell-checker lexicon) is an ill-
1 know that in some locations, for defined and slippery one that has been used to include everything from stay-
l to track traffic patterns, or that ing in constant contact with friends, family, and relatives to voting for our
hen they're not using them, allow favorite "American Idol." The term's ubiquity is rivaled by its referential flex-
1rse of the day. Interactivity is not ibility: as one group of researchers noted, "Even the 'experts' are not yet cer-
than not, it amounts to the offer tain exactly what the concept means." 4 Or, as another researcher succinctly
unwitting submission to increas- put it, "The academic [and, I might add, popular] usage of 'interactivity' is
Ting. This book is about some of marginally inconsistent at best." 5
ig used-or might be used in the Somewhere in the mix, the positive associations of interactivity as a form
s we might want to think carefully of two-way, symmetrical, and relatively transparent communication (in the
ctive revolution and the power of sense of knowing where the information we send is going) have been assimi-
· daily lives. lated to forms of interaction that amount to little more than strategies for
monitoring and surveillance. But this is not a book about the so-called end
of privacy, not least because the information economy is one in which personal
information is being privatized on an unprecedented scale. Those who express
re assembled, the turn of the cur- their concern over the impending death of privacy as well as those who, like
wn of the iCentury-a period in Sun Micosystems's former CEO Scott McNeally, tell us to "get over it;' have the
the interactive revolution became story only partly right. 6 It's true that citizens and consumers are losing con-
appears in front of an increasing trol over information about themselves, that increasingly their movements
Lfactured by Apple) and concepts and purchases, the details of their daily lives, are being recorded, gathered,
 [ 6 ) CHAPTER ONE

and sorted. In this respect, it's also true that the public can no longer nurture rhythms of our daily lives. Th
one of the characteristic expectations of mass society: that of being able to a vengeance: we find it next t<
pass relatively unnoticed in a crowd, of being able, for the most part, to fly of the information about us,
below the radar of surveillance, whether in the form of state surve.illance, mercial organizations and tli
commercial monitoring, or even neighborhood gossip. Most crowds these the state. The result might b1
days flow past scores of closed-circuit surveillance cameras as they move individuals are becoming ino
through the city-cameras that will likely one day soon develop the capacity ,monitoring agencies, even as
to recognize individual faces and link them to personal information. opaque in the face of technol
The shift away from a culture of relative anonymity is pervasive-at least ing large amounts of inform<
wherever interactive technologies are present. Not long ago, for example, Most of us have some va
loading software on a computer was an unmonitored act-a fact with con- ing information about us wh
sequen~es for software privacy (and piracy). These days, thanks to the spread our preferences online, surf t
of the Internet, the programs we load on our computers check in with their very little knowledge about"'
parent companies to let them know that they've been legally installed. As we cess to it, and how it is being
use our frequent shopper cards, our credit cards, and our subway fare cards, there are database companie1
and as we surf the Internet, we generate increasingly high-resolution pieces depression, believe in the Bil:
of an emerging data portrait, one that grows more detailed and comprehen- "verification services" compa
sive with each new interactive application. about 220 million American:
Privacy itself is not only far from dead, it also forms the very basis for monitored, but we are far fr01
the value of detailed information about consumers and citizens. Companies sophisticated the monitoring
make billions of dollars by gathering detailed information about consumers Increasingly, state surveill
and claiming it as their private property. In so doing, they prevent members same model: as more inform:
of the public from accessing information that has been gathered about them to the general public. The pc
by invoking their own right to privacy. A cousin of mine who works at one tendency. Although it has rig
of the nation's largest database companies refused, on privacy grounds, to forms of privacy protection
send me a copy of the information the company had about me. But when she rity, it has received rather le5
sent a copy of the information about her-including only the public record significant provisions: the fa
information and not the additional proprietary information (gathered from its aegis from the Federal Frei
the commercial sector and law enforcement)-it was more than 20 pages more intensive and extensive
long and included not only a list of all the places she'd lived, but the names national security) but decrea
of all of her former roommates and all of the cars she'd owned. This was cies-agencies that have beco
the lowest-resolution data image available, and yet it contained much more power. The same logic is at w
information than most of us would have realized is routinely gathered and right to increase surveillance
stored about us. legal obligation to obtain se;;
We as individuals may feel that we increasingly have less and less freedom some degree of accountabilit;
from scrutiny by those who would like to know the smallest details of the but increased surveillance wi
 INTRODUCTION [ 7 ]

lt the public can no longer nurture rhythms of our daily lives. The flip side, however, is the return of privacy with
nass society: that of being able to a vengeance: we find it next to impossible to learn what is being done with all
eing able, for the most part, to fly of the information about us, thanks to the shield of privacy claimed by com-
in the form of state surve_illance, mercial organizations and that of secrecy and national security invoked by
.rhood gossip. Most crowds these the state. The result might be described as an asymmetrical loss of privacy:
irveillance cameras as they move individuals are becoming increasingly transparent to both public and private
one day soon develop the capacity monitoring agencies, even as the actions of these agencies remain stubbornly
n to personal information. opaque in the face of technologies that make collecting, sharing, and analyz-
e anonymity is pervasive-at least ing large amounts of information easier than ever before.
~sent. Not long ago, for example, Most of us have some vague understanding that marketers are gather-
nmonitored act-a fact with con- ing information about us when we use our credit or discount cards, register
'). These days, thanks to the spread our preferences online, surf the Web, or use our mobile phone, but we have
our computers check in with their very little knowledge about what information is being gathered, who has ac-
fley've been legally installed. As we cess to it, and how it is being used. How many of us know, for example, that
t cards, and our subway fare cards, there are database companies that keep "lists of people who take Prozac for
ncreasingly high-resolution pieces depression, believe in the Bible, gamble online, or buy sex toys,'' or that the
ws more detailed and comprehen- "verification services" company ChoicePoint has more than 15 billion records
about 220 million Americans? 7 We know in general terms that we're being
d, it also forms the very basis for monitored, but we are far from having a sense of how extensive, detailed, and
msumers and citizens. Companies sophisticated the monitoring system has become.
iled information about consumers Increasingly, state surveillance, at least in the United States, follows the
n so doing, they prevent members same model: as more information is gathered, less accountability is afforded
that has been gathered about them to the general public. The post-9/11 Patriot Act is a telling example of this
cousin of mine who works at one tendency. Although it has rightly received a fair amount of publicity for the
~s refused, on privacy grounds, to forms of privacy protection that it sacrifices in the name of national secu-
11pany had about me. But when she rity; it has received rather less publicity for what might be among its most
-including only the public record significant provisions: the fact that it exempts monitoring activities under
ietary information (gathered from its aegis from the Federal Freedom of Information Act. The result is not just
tent)-it was more than 20 pages more intensive and extensive surveillance (which arguably has some value to
e places she'd lived, but the names national security) but decreased accountability on the part of the spy agen-
of the cars she'd owned. This was cies-agencies that have become famous for past abuses of their surveillance
~,and yet it contained much more power. The same logic is at work in President Bush's public insistence on his
realized is routinely gathered and right to increase surveillance activities while at the same time bypassing the
legal obligation to obtain search warrants-an obligation meant to ensure
easingly have less and less freedom some degree of accountability. The goal is not merely increased surveillance,
o know the smallest details of the but increased surveillance with diminished oversight and accountability-
 ( 8 ] CHAPTER ONE

or, to put it another way, increasing asymmetry in the monitoring process: egy of ideology is to address <
those who are increasingly subject to surveillance are prevented from learn- ten one that exacerbates the v 1

ing about the details of the surveillance process itself. The watchmen don't the unflagging demand that l
want to be watched. ple, the market offers the imCJ
This asymmetry is pervasive in forms of commercial and state monitoring powerful automobiles. Think
facilitated by new communication technologies and techniques. It is rapidly ripping their way through tc
becoming a hallmark of the type of "interactivity" citizens and consumers their way through snow drift
encounter on a regular basis. Perhaps not surprisingly given their prevalence, in control over nature even 2
such forms of asymmetry have made their way into the interpersonal use of threat posed by environmen1
"interactive" devices, which allow individuals to engage in forms of monitor- every ideological strategy is 1
ing and surveillance that mimic commercial and state surveillance. Just as we fulfil1s while promising that it
are becoming increasingly accustomed to top-down forms of monitoring, so any attempt to debunk ideolc
we are learning that new technologies mean friends, families, and peers have of the need it addresses. As c1
an unprecedented ability to surreptitiously monitor and record information be dismissed as wholly false: i1
about one another by, for example, tracking phone calls (via cell phone call ment of the reality of a need <
histories) and computer use (by checking recently viewed searches, docu- 'consider the promise of inter
ments, and Web sites) or performing criminal background checks and public might start out by considerin
records searches. These broad-ranging forms of habituation to interactivity- what differently, one approacl
as-monitoring reinforce one another. implicit or explicit promise: '
All of which is not to argue that interactivity is either inherently perni- new communication technol 1

cious (or, on the other hand, automatically empowering). Although this interactivity as public relatior
book explores various dimensions and proposed definitions of interactivity, its appeal by working backwai
it avoids defining interactivity in the abstract. Rather, it sets out to consider perceived need?
the contradictions and tensions that permeate the contemporary deploy- Instead of starting with a Ii
ment of both the promise of interactivity (as a form of power sharing) and to consider some specific exa
its practice (which often amounts to monitoring and surveillance). It takes social impact as for being sug1
interactivity as it~ guiding object of critique and analysis because of the ise of interactivity. In the sur
central role played by this concept and capacity in the deployment of new for example, TV viewers were
information and communication technologies that have had a powerfully executive being tossed throu~
transformative effect on the media environment, the information economy, fice. The message of this toni
and, thus, on contemporary social relations. tive revolution was that interCJ
At heart, this is a book that approaches some of the central issues sur- in control over TV consumpt
rounding the development and deployment of new media through the lens put it, glossing over the fact
of one of their characteristic attributes. It is an attempt to debunk the false on content whatsoever, "TiVo
promise of the digital revolution and in so doing to rehabilitate rather than perintelligent VCR, allows vi
write off the democratic potential of interactive media. The standard strat- the time the advertisement a
 INTRODUCTION [ 9 ]

nmetry in the monitoring process: egy of ideology is to address a real perceived need with a false solution-of-
veillance are prevented from learn- ten one that exacerbates the very need it promised to fulfill, thereby ensuring
process itself. The watchmen don't the unflagging demand that legitimates the ideology itself. Thus, for exam-
ple, the market offers the image of control over nature as a means of selling
)f commercial and state monitoring powerful automobiles. Think of all the SUV ads that feature rugged vehicles
)logies and techniques. It is rapidly ripping their way through tough terrain, climbing mountains, and slicing
eractivity" citizens and consumers their way through snow drifts and streams. The ads cater to a desire to feel
surprisingly given their prevalence, in control over nature even as they pitch a product that contributes to the
ir way into the interpersonal use of threat posed by environmental degradation. The defining contradiction of
uals to engage in forms of monitor- every ideological strategy is that it acknowledges the reality of the need it
:ial and state surveillance. Just as we fulfills while promising that it has already been addressed. By the same token,
top-down forms of monitoring, so any attempt to debunk ideology runs the danger of dismissing the actuality
~an friends, families, and peers have of the need it addresses. As critic Fredric Jameson suggests, ideology cannot
ly monitor and record information be dismissed as wholly false: it reveals its element of truth in the acknowledg-
ing phone calls (via cell phone call ment of the reality of a need or a contradiction to be addressed. 8 If we are to
1g recently viewed searches, docu- consider the promise of interactivity as ideological in this specific sense, we
1inal background checks and public might start out by considering the need that it addresses. Or to put it some-
rms of habituation to interactivity- what differently, one approach to the notion of interactivity is to consider its
implicit or explicitpromise: why is it such a useful buzzword for marketing
ractivity is either inherently perni- new communication technology? Rather than dismissing the marketing of
1cally empowering). Although this interactivity as public relations froth, how might we extract the solid core of
roposed definitions of interactivity, its appeal by working backward, as it were, from the proposed solution to the
tract. Rather, it sets out to consider perceived need?
:rmeate the contemporary deploy- Instead of starting with a list of general answers, it is perhaps more useful
y (as a form of power sharing) and to consider some specific examples chosen not so much for their sweeping
mitoring and surveillance). It takes social impact as for being suggestive-and typical of the promotional prom-
itique and analysis because of the ise of interactivity. In the summer of the first year of the new millennium,
::apacity in the deployment of new ' for example, TV viewers were treated to an advertisement that featured a TV
)logies that have had a powerfully executive being tossed through the plate-glass window of his skyscraper of-
onment, the information economy, fice. The message of this tongue-in-cheek image of the impending interac-
ms. tive revolution was that interactive technology heralded a revolutionary shift
hes some of the central issues sur- in control over TV consumption from producers to viewers. As one account
1ent of new media through the lens put it, glossing over the fact that the ostensible revolution had no impact
[tis an attempt to debunk the false on content whatsoever, "TiVo, a digital set-top unit that functions like a hy-
so doing to rehabilitate rather than perintelligent VCR, allows viewers to create their own TV schedules." 9 By
eractive media. The standard strat- the time the advertisement aired, the rhetoric of the digital revolution had
 [ 10 ] CHAPTER ONE

become easily recognizable: thanks to new, interactive, media technologies, What helps make both m
consumers, viewers, and citizens were about to become radically empow- ness model of TiVo's founder:
ered. Such rhetoric folded the images of political revolution-the violent de- to overthrow the corporate rr
throning of power figures in the TiVo ad, for example-into a promotional information possible about '
appeal for the latest generation of high-tech consumer goods. providing customized conter
Perhaps the archetypical image of this advertising campaign was the 1984 viewing habits to consumers. •
Apple computer ad featuring the revolutionary overthrow of Orwellian au- to become the twenty-first-o
thoritarianism-thanks to the emergence of personal computing, Apple that watches viewers while the
style. Not only would the revolution be televised and digitized, but it could of TiVo's surveillance capabil
be purchased ... and the culture critics were buying. In its celebratory article robe malfunction" during th€
about TiVo, the New York Times heralded the technology as "the beginning performers, Janet Jackson, m
of the end of another socialistic force in American life: the mass market." 10 enthusiastic press release put
Against the background of the impending interactive revolution, the article's ment was the most replayed in
author argued, "the entire history of commercial television suddenly appears allowed by TiVo-the ability t
to have been a Stalinist plot erected, as it has been, on force from above rather a dramatically heightened lev
than choice from below." 11 At the very least, such an observation amounts to determine which households
dramatic historical revisionism for a publication like the New York Times. how they are watching and wl
Apparently, by the turn of the millennium, thanks perhaps to the fall of com- ward, pause, and so on. TiVo ]
munism in Europe, it seemed OK to admit that the mass culture critics had ducers to monitor viewers.
been right all along: there was a disconcerting similarity between the top- The model, up until the a
down control of capitalist mass media monopolies on the one hand aHd top- homogeneous masses in whic
down state-controlled media on the other. sonably assumed to reflect th1
Perhaps it shouldn't have come as a big surprise that a mainstream me- out any way of checking for
dia heavyweight like the New York Times would readily embrace a promise digital recording technology-
that had, after all, become commonplace in the hype surrounding new me- TV systems, thereby threaten
dia technologies. But it was a bit surprising to discover that, at least in this the middleman role-the mm
instance, the mainstream media and the hip media critics who publish the probability sampling to one
magazine Adbusters were on the same page. According to Adbusters, TiVo is ual viewing habits. TiVo tech
a subversive technology that "struck true fear into the hearts of the transna- into the customized, interacti
tional bosses" (including, presumably, the networks who were investing in com can remember the identi
TiVo at the time) because it "sticks it to every broadcast advertiser." 12 The past actions and purchases in
result, they noted, was "something revolutionary. Something almost purely tomized appeals for new prod
democratic. Something essentially non-commercial, driven not by price but video services-allow produc
by value. At long last, the people-could it be true?-would have control of dividual households. When t1
what they wanted to hear and see." amount of information gathe
 INTRODUCTION ( 11 ]

ew, interactive, media technologies, What helps make both reactions somewhat surprising is that the busi-
1bout to become radically empow- ness model of TiVo's founders was, as the New York Times article noted, not
political revolution-the violent de- to overthrow the corporate media, but to provide it with the most detailed
f, for example-into a promotional information possible about viewers: to become information middlemen,
ech consumer goods. providing customized content to viewers and detailed information about
s advertising campaign was the 1984 viewing habits to consumers. Far from fomenting revolution, TiVo promised
tionary overthrow of Orwellian au- to become the twenty-first-century realizatioµ of the Orwellian telescreen
rice of personal computing, Apple that watches viewers while they watch TV. Perhaps the most graphic instance
televised and digitized, but it could of TiVo's surveillance capabilities came shortly after the notorious "ward-
vere buying. In its celebratory article robe malfunction" during the 2004 Super Bowl, when one of the half-time
~d the technology as "the beginning performers, Janet Jackson, momentarily bared her breast. According to an
10
l American life: the mass market." enthusiastic press release put out by TiVo the following day, this brief mo-
1g interactive revolution, the article's ment was the most replayed in TiVo's admittedly brief history. The "freedom"
tmercial television suddenly appears allowed by TiVo-the ability to watch shows whenever one likes-came with
has been, on force from above rather a dramatically heightened level of viewer monitoring: the ability not just to
ast, such an observation amounts to determine which households are watching what shows, but the minutiae of
Jblication like the New York Times. how they are watching and when, including how often they rewind, fast for-
n, thanks perhaps to the fall of com- ward, pause, and so on. TiVo promised a quantum leap in the ability of pro-
nit that the mass culture critics had ducers to monitor viewers.
certing similarity between the top- The model, up until the advent of TiVo, has been to treat audiences as
onopolies on the one hand al'ld top- homogeneous masses in which the behavior of a small sample could be rea-
~r. sonably assumed to reflect the viewing patterns of society as a whole (with-
big surprise that a mainstream me- out any way of checking for certain). With the development of interactive
~s would readily embrace a promise digital recording technology-which is also being incorporated into cable
e in the hype surrounding new rrie- TV systems, thereby threatening to eliminate TiVo's coveted monopoly of
sing to discover that, at least in this the middleman role-the model shifts from one based on generalization and
~ hip media critics who publish the probability sampling to one based on the detailed monitoring of individ-
age. According to Adbusters, TiVo is ual viewing habits. TiVo technology brings the mass medium of television
~fear into the hearts of the transna- into the customized, interactive network era. Just as Web sites like Amazon.
he networks who were investing in com can remember the identity of individual visitors and sort through their
J every broadcast advertiser." 12 The past actions and purchases in order to target individual consumers with cus-
lutionary. Something almost purely tomized appeals for new products and services, TiVo-and other interactive
:ommercial, driven not by price but video services-allow producers to keep track of the viewing habits of in-
lit be true?-would have control of dividual households. When television and Internet technologies merge, the
amount of information gathered about consumers will likely grow exponen-
 [ 12 ] CHAPTER ONE

tially, broadening from TV viewing to include, potentially, Web surfing and Critical theorists have for
online shopping, digital radio listening, and downloading statistics. might be considered a form<
The fact that digital VCR technologies allow viewers to program their view- is compensated for by acces~
ing preferences adds a new dimension of predictability to ratings measure- the informal media contract
ments: producers will know in advance the shows that specific households the latter agree to expose the
plan to view. Down the road, when the digital customization technology change for access to entertai
that futurists like Bill Gates have long envisioned becomes practiccil, advance to the unwritten rules of this
knowledge of viewing habits will allow programmers to tailor advertise- presumably advertisers woulc
ments to viewers. If, for example, a particular household has set its TiVo to TV programming would dry
record Monday Night Football every week during the football season, pro- is a suggestive way to approa
ducers could conceivably use background information about the household around TV viewing, includi1
to deliver customized advertising. The apparent drawbackfor producers is "responsibilities" by channel
that digital VCRs make it possible for viewers to skip ads, a troublesome de- producers to develop increas
tail that they are addressing with product placement and the return of spon- viewers and thwarting their a
sored programming. Shows like The Apprentice, for example, rely heavily on nizing advertising slots and n
sponsors who integrate their products into the content of the show. Thus, such as product placement,
one of the likely consequences of digitization-a consequence that it both placed in the "crawl" space at
enables and necessitates (at least from the standpoint of advertisers)-is the TiVo, viewed from this i:
continued blurring of the line between content and advertising. greatly advance "workplace"
It's worth pointing out that this process of de-differentiation goes far be- customization, to ensure tha1
yond straightforward forms of product placement, like the Reese's Pieces would mean that they are exi
candy in E.T. The Extra Terrestrial, or the Coke logo on Simon Cowell's cup. are relevant to them. Enhanci
Already the content of much television programming serves primarily as down on wasted advertising v
promotional material for other media commodities, either directly or in the ads or men to commercials fi
form of packaging and promoting celebrities and hybrid entertainers like tion process, however, adds <.'
Jennifer Lopez. This convergence trend is, as media scholars and critics have the process. Targeted advertis
pointed out, already well under way in the era of media conglomeration and tion about consumer prefere
cross-platform synergy. Reality shows like Newlyweds or Making the Band before the development of in
help promote the musical careers of their stars, while entertainment "news" consuming to obtain. Custom
shows and celebrity exposes promote the careers, movies, albums, and TV demographic information to ;
shows of featured celebrities. Watching Entertainment Tonight is like watch- of increasingly intensive and 1

ing a long advertisement for movies, TV shows, and albums interspersed To return to the example c
with shorter ads for personal care products and cars. If the advent of interac- related forms of consumer lal
tive TV heralds the end of advertising as we know it-vignettes distinct from the work of watching describe
the program content-it simultaneously anticipates the transformation of that viewers are exposed to th
all content into advertising. needs, desires, and anxieties <
 INTRODUCTION [ 13 ]

iclude, potentially, Web surfing and Critical theorists have for some time asserted that watching advertising
md downloading statistics. might be considered a form of audience labor-value-generating work that
allow viewers to program their view- is compensated for by access to "free" program content.13 In other words,
if predictability to ratings measure- the informal media contract entered into by producers and viewers is that
the shows that specific households the latter agree to expose themselves to some amount of advertising in ex-
e digital customization technology change for access to entertainment, news, and sports coverage. According
visioned becomes practica.l, advance to the unwritten rules of this contract, if no one were ever to watch any ads,
r programmers to tailor advertise- presumably advertisers would take their business elsewhere, and funding for
icular household has set its TiVo to TV programming would dry up. The labor metaphor has its limits, but it
~ek during the football season, pro- is a suggestive way to approach some of the ongoing struggles that emerge
d information about the household around TV viewing, including attempts by viewers to shirk their viewing
Lpparent drawback for producers is "responsibilities" by channel surfing or ad zapping, and counterattempts by
~wers to skip ads, a troublesome <le- producers to develop increasingly sophisticated techniques for monitoring
t placement and the return of spon- viewers and thwarting their avoidance strategies-by, for example, synchro-
1rentice, for example, rely heavily on nizing advertising slots and relying more heavily on ads that can't be zapped,
nto the content of the show. Thus, such as product placement, sponsorship, and, more recently, advertising
zation-a consequence that it both placed in the "crawl" space at the bottom of the screen.
te standpoint of advertisers )-is the TiVo, viewed from this perspective, is a technology that promises to
ontent and advertising. greatly advance "workplace" monitoring, and, in combination with digital
~ss of de-differentiation goes far be- customization, to ensure that viewers work as efficiently as possible, which
: placement, like the Reese's Pieces would mean that they are exposed only to those promotional messages that
e Coke logo on Simon Cowell's cup. are relevant to them. Enhancing efficiency in this regard would mean cutting
t programming serves primarily as down on wasted advertising viewing, such as exposing retirees to acne cream
)mmodities, either directly or in the ads or men to commercials for feminine hygiene products. The customiza-
brities and hybrid entertainers like tion process, however, adds another, perhaps more literal, level of labor to
s, as media scholars and critics have the process. Targeted advertising relies on the collection of detailed informa-
1e era of media conglomeration and tion about consumer preferences, values, and behavior-information that,
ike Newlyweds or Making the Band before the development of interactive technology, could be costly and time-
ir stars, while entertainment "news" consuming to obtain. Customization, in other words, increases the demand for
1e careers, movies, albums, and TV demographic information to a new level: it creates new markets for the fruits
Entertainment Tonight is like watch- of increasingly intensive and extensive forms of consumer surveillance.
'V shows, and albums interspersed To return to the example of TiVo, we can discern two different but inter-
cts and cars. If the advent of interac- related forms of consumer labor and their relationship to one another: first,
we know it-vignettes distinct from the work of watching described by media economists-the attempt to ensure
y anticipates the transformation of that viewers are exposed to those ads that are most likely to be relevant to the
needs, desires, and anxieties of individual viewers; and second, the work of
 ( 14 ) CHAPTER ONE

being watched-the ability of the interactive technology to gather informa- samples for diet products sen
tion about individual viewing habits. This second form of "labor" generates perhaps somewhat more dis1
an actual product to be bought and sold in the form of what Vincent Mosco of anxiety or insecurity .(intE
has described as cybernetic commodities: information about transactions on impotency, for example).
andviewing habits. 14 When I buy a book at Amazon.com, I've purchased a we embark on the impendin@
commodity; if Amazon.com sells information about what books I've pur- marketing is not what marke
chased and viewed to a data-mining company, it is selling what Mosco calls a is any information they don't
cybernetic commodity. suspects, is a resounding "no.
The burgeoning personal information industry, which includes compa- The lesson of the TiVo ad"'
nies like Equifax, Choicepoint, Acxiom, and Lexis/Nexis, has grown up in example of digital video reco
part around the trade in such commodities, generated by individuals as they the marketing of surveillance
go through the routines of their daily lives. The value of such commodities the TiVo campaign heralds is
lies in their ability to rationalize the marketing process-not just to ensure is being enthroned even as b
that ads are sent to the "right" viewers, but to determine strategie~ for mar- Thanks to the capability of
keting more efficiently to particular sets of viewers by capitalizing on detailed are being enlisted and equip
information about their personal lives: have they recently started buying diet nipulation. The defining iror
products and larger-size clothing? Perhaps ads that target insecurities over of detailed information gath
weight issues might be inserted in the TV shows these viewers have sched- offloaded onto consumers in
uled for downloading. And that's just a mild version of the potential for in- row from a formulation by<
vasive and manipulative forms of advertising facilitated by the combination actively participate in staging
of detailed data gathering and personalized marketing. The example of the to view such participation as
woman who started receiving Safeway coupons for diapers and baby food the recurring mobilization of
nine months after she purchased a home pregnancy test at the store is only teractivity has implications ti
a crude foretaste of the marketing world to come-one in which advertisers of the political-a theme tha1
may well have ready access not just to our purchases, but our movements to note that the model of wil
throughout the course of the day, our medical and relationship histories, and as a form of participation ou~
perhaps even the changing state of our physiological responses. 15 Entrepre- been following the role of citi:
neurs are already working on interactive devices that store and respond to war on terror and the Depart
changes in level of anxiety,. pulse, and body temperature. The attempt to use paign. Willing submission to
everything from eye-tracking devices to EKG scanning in order to hone in- not just as civic duty, but as tl
teractive sales strategies is already well under way. Combine the marketing
mind-set with the fervid and value-free imagination of entrepreneurial tech-
iPromise: Interactivity's 0
nocapital, and what might seem creepy to the rest of us becomes the next
killer application: Web sites that rearrange themselves in response to our In this book, I take as a given
viewing behavior, interactive ads fired off to our cell phones in response to teractivity that can be used as
changes in our pulse rates and pupil dilation triggered by an advertisement; term. Rather, through a cons
 INTRODUCTION [ 15 ]

;tive technology to gather informa- samples for diet products sent to our homes when our pants size changes; or,
is second form of "labor" generates perhaps somewhat more disturbingly, ads targeted to an emerging pattern
in the form of what Vincent Mosco of anxiety or insecurity .(interactive ads for Viagra after visiting a Web site
es: information about transactions on impotency, for example). The question that we need to ask ourselves as
k at Amazon.com, I've purchased a we embark on the impending era of technologically facilitated "relationship"
nation about what books I've pur- marketing is not what marketers want to know about us, but whether there
pany, it is selling what Mosco calls a is any information they don't want to know about our lives. The answer, one
suspects, is a resounding "no."
n industry, which includes compa- The lesson of the TiVo advertisement, and the reason for dwelling on the
and Lexis/Nexis, has grown up in example of digital video recording technology, is that it neatly encapsulates
ies, generated by individuals as they the marketing of surveillance as a form of revolutionary participation. What
res. The value of such commodities the TiVo campaign heralds is an era in which we are told that the consumer
rketing process-not just to ensure is being enthroned even as he or. she is being put to work as never before.
mt to determine strategies, for mar- Thanks to the capability of interactive networked technology, consumers
>f viewers by capitalizing on detailed are being enlisted and equipped to assist in the process of their own ma-
ave they recently started buying diet nipulation. The defining irony of the interactive economy is thatthe labor
tps ads that target insecurities over of detailed information gathering and comprehensive monitoring is being
V shows these viewers have sched- offloaded onto consumers in the name of their own empowerment. To bor-
nild version of the potential for in- row from a formulation by critical theorist Slavoj Zizek, we are invited to
ising facilitated by the combination actively participate in staging the scene of our own passive submission-and
zed marketing. The example of the to view such participation as a form of power sharing. 16 As is evident from
;oupons for diapers and baby food the recurring mobilization of the language of democracy, the promise of in-
e pregnancy test at the store is only teractivity has implications that extend beyond the economic realm to that
to come-one in which advertisers of the political-a theme that will be taken up in Chapters 6 and 7. Suffice it
:mr purchases, but our movements to note that the model of willing submission to comprehensive monitoring
~dical and relationship histories, and as a form of participation ought to be clearly recognizable to anyone who has
physiological responses. 15 Entrepre- been following the role of citizen "participation" in the Bush administration's
e devices that store and respond to war on terror and the Department of Homeland Security's "readiness" cam-
1dy temperature. The attempt to use paign. Willing submission to government surveillance and control is framed
EKG scanning in order to hone in- not just as civic duty, but as the public's participation in an interactive war.
mder way. Combine the marketing
magination of entrepreneurial tech-
iPromise: Interactivity's Offerings
to the rest of us becomes the next
nge themselves in response to our In this book, I take as a given that there is no single correct definition of in-
ff to our cell phones in response to teractivity that can be used as a measuring stick to assess any given use of the
ltion triggered by an advertisement; term. Rather, through a consideration of particular applications, this book
 [ 16 ) CHAPTER ONE

attempts to read the promise of interactivity against itself. To avoid begging elites who are developing anc
the question, then, it discerns in the use of the term by promoters of the tools of their own destructio
information economy the promise of interactivity as a form of power shar- the world, who have inadver1
ing: a democratic challenge to the economic, political, cultural, and social undoing should be very, very 2
hierarchies of mass society. Interactive artist Celia Pearce, in her handbook way you look at it, interactiv
on interactivity, captures the celebratory, revolutionary spirit of this prom- nouncements reflect the eupb
ise when she argues that, precisely because of emerging forms of interactiv- mean they have run their com
ity, "The digital age introduces a new form of international socialism, a new media technologies with the I
kind of democracy that Marx never even imagined." 17 The very premise of creative control remains alive
interactivity, she claims, "is one of intellectual, creative and social empower- as will become evident from .
ment. It is anti-industrial." 18 tions of the book. The impor1
The celebratory "post-mass society" and postindustrial tone of these legitimating the ongoing rati1
claims for interactivity extends to the media technologies that enable it, in- suggests it's not going away ar
cluding networked computing. For example, Howard Rheingold', the pop- Moreover, the unreflective,
ulizer of the idea that computer networks can help revitalize a sense of powerment neatly sidesteps tl
community in an increasingly dispersed and atomized society, argues, "The revolutionary politics. An urn:
political significance of computer mediated communication lies in its capac- ism and totalitarian culture c2
ity to challenge the existing political hierarchy's monopoly on powerful com- a technological fix has already
munications media, and perhaps thus revitalize citizen-based democracy." 19 would amount to a call for f
New media guru and futurist Derrick de Kerckhove goes even further, ar- to arms. A typically American
guing that technological developments succeed where political struggle has however, allows properly poli
failed: "In a networked society, the real powershift is from the producer to of the technocracy. Media sc
the consumer, and there is a redistribution of controls and power. On the American faith in the ability 1
Web, Karl Marx's dream has been realized: the tools and the means of pro- solve political issues as one as
duction are in the hands of the workers." 20 which "massages in us all the
Read backward, all of these promises suggest that the current state of so- would solve the problems of tl
ciety is not altogether democratic, but rather is characterized by the concen- prosperity, and ecological han
tration of power in a group of social, political, and economic elites. Further, functions in an era of generali
as in the case of the New York Times's reception of TiVo described above, the form of anti-politics. We can;:
implicit message is that the forms of centralized, one-way, and top-down and attendant struggles over I
media characteristic of industrial capitalism facilitate an undemocratic con- Mattelart called "the ideology
centration of power. In what is likely to be welcome news to the monopo- There are two aspects of st
lists, this latest critique of concentrated power proposes a technological fix. bedded in the portrayal of inte
There's no need for revofotion if the technology itself is revolutionary: the revolutionary. The first, typifie
market will heal itself, and citizens will become empowered by embracing perative in the technology itsel
new media technologies. Apparently unbeknownst to themselves, the very ties. According to this accoun
 INTRODUCTION [ 17 ]

tivity against itself. To avoid begging elites who are developing and popularizing the technology are crafting the
se of the term by promoters of the tools of their own destruction. As Pearce puts it, "the Newt Gingriches of
tteractivity as a form of power shar- the world, who have inadvertently popularized the thing that will be their
10mic, political, cultural, and social undoing should be very, very afraid," 21 presumably because "no matter which
artist Celia Pearce, in her handbook way you look at it, interactivity is inherently subversive." 22 That such pro-
y, revolutionary spirit of this prom- nouncements reflect the euphoric techno-utopianism of the 1990s does not
LlSe of emerging forms of interactiv- mean they have run their course. Indeed, the ongoing attempt to equate new
rm of international socialism, a new media technologies with the promise of empowerment, individuation, and
~n imagined." 17 The very premise of creative control remains alive and well even in the postbubble tech economy,
ectual, creative and social empower- as will become evident from several of the examples discussed in later sec-
tions of the book. The important ideological role that this equation plays in
" and postindustrial tone of these legitimating the ongoing rationalization of economic and political control
iedia technologies that enable it, in- suggests it's not going away any time soon.
mple, Howard Rheingold, the pop- Moreover, the unreflective, celebratory equation of interactivity with em-
mks can help revitalize a sense of powerment neatly sidesteps the more tangled and troublesome questions of
l and atomized society, argues, "The revolutionary politics. An undemocratic affinity between monopoly capital-
ted communication lies in its capac- ism and totalitarian culture can only be admitted-or even hinted at-once
archy's monopoly on powerful com- a technological fix has already been proffered. In its absence, such a critique
evitalize citizen-based democracy." 19 would amount to a call for political action-a literal or metaphorical call
de Kerckhove goes even further, ar- to arms. A typically American faith in the redemptive power of technology,
succeed where political struggle has however, allows properly political issues to be transposed into the register
powershift is from the producer to of the technocracy. Media scholar James Carey describes the distinctively
tion of controls and power. On the American faith in the ability of technological developments to properly re-
~ed: the tools and the means of pro- solve political issues as one aspect of "the rhetoric of the electrical sublime,"
"20
which "massages in us all the belief that somehow advances in technology
suggest that the current state of so- would solve the problems of the present and usher in a new century of peace,
1ther is characterized by the concen- prosperity, and ecological harmony." 23 Technological politics, in this respect,
>litical, and economic elites. Further, functions in an era of generalized skepticism toward the political realm, as a
:eption of TiVo described above, the form of anti-politics. We can avoid the messy work of collective deliberation
:entralized, one-way, and top-down and attendant struggles over power through an invocation of what Armand
lism facilitate an undemocratic con- Mattelart called "the ideology of redemption through networks." 24
> be welcome news to the monopo- There are two aspects of straightforward technological determinism em-
power proposes a technological fix. bedded in the portrayal of interactive technology as inherently subversive and
chnology itself is revolutionary: the revolutionary. The first, typified by Pearce's comments, locates a political im-
l become empowered by embracing perative in the technology itself insofar as it incorporates interactive capabili-
1beknownst to themselves, the very ties. According to this account, interactivity is not a neutral capability that
 ( 18 ] CHAPTER ONE

can be enlisted either for totalitarian control or democratic empowerment; tivity in a general sense long prec
it is, rather inextricably tied to the latter. The import of such a claim is to reason his work resonates througb
exempt particular uses of the technology from critical scrutiny: if they are popularization of "cyber-" as a pr
interactive, they must be empowering. The second, related, claim asserts the also the resonance of his study of
inevitable development and implementation of networked communication technologies. His theories focus 01
technologies. The combination of these two claims exhibits the theme of fate (and this persistent link in his we
that runs deep in the ongoing discussion of cyberspace: the assertion that, on detailed data collection in an 1

like it or not, the digital revolution is inevitable. As Negroponte puts it, "Like conditions.
a force of nature, the digital age cannot be denied or stopped." 25 The breath- In short, Wiener's theories be1
less certainty of such claims is underwritten by the assumption that the digi- interactive technology: Web sites
tal revolution is a force for good. viewer behavior, interactive billb<
By contrast, the man credited with coining the term that provided the peals, TV shows that change thei
prefix for the digital revolution-cybernetics-was less sanguine about the homes that change climate condi
prospects for interactive technology. Norbert Wiener, the MIT mathemati- residents, electronic "newspapers
cian whose neologism, derived from the word for "steersman," haunts the preferences. The persistent use o
discourse on new media in the truncated form of the familiar "cyber-" prefix, academic reception of new medi<
observed that the technology we now call interactive facilitates increasingly regarding the element of control t
sophisticated forms of centralized control. Throughout his writing on cy- activity in "cyberspace" -which, t
bernetics, Wiener emphasized the link to questions of power and control, ·rethink as "directed space" or "ste
emphasizing them in his definition of the term itself: "We have decided to developed in more detail in the f<
call the entire field of control and communication theory, whether in the berspace as "governed" space, buil~
machine or the animal, by the name cybernetics." 26 Rather than trumpet- lighted by Wiener: "we wish to re
ing the subversive potential of cybernetic technology, Wiener, writing shortly feed-back mechanisms is an artic
after the end of World War II, expressed guarded pessimism toward the sci- Clerk Maxwell in 1868 and that gc
entific developments he helped pioneer and theorize: "there are those who of kubernetes [the Greek word for
hope that the good of a better understanding of man and society which is If the genealogy of new media
offered by this new field of work may anticipate and outweigh the incidental netic theories of feedback-enhan<
contribution we are making to the concentration of power (which is always root in military research. SpecifiCG
concentrated, by its very conditions of existence, in the hands of the most Wiener and his colleagues during t
unscrupulous). I write in 1947, and I am compelled to say that it is a very that reappears throughout his wo
slight hope." 27 and servomechanisms in the <level
If, as Spiro Kiousis's overview of the academic literature on interactiv- from being anti-industrial, cyber
ity and new media suggests, "any discussion of interactivity inevitably draws tion of industrial technology. Wie
from its roots in Cybernetic theory, as outlined by Wiener," the latter's work- factories equipped with devices t
and his reservations-might be a good place to start in contextualizing and the first industrial revolution witr
critiquing the promise of interactivity. 28 Obviously, the notion of interac- nication-based one. In predicting
 INTRODUCTION [ 19 ]

itrol or democratic empowerment; tivity in a general sense long predates Wiener's theories of cybernetics. The
·. The import of such a claim is to reason his work resonates through the literature on new media is not just the
y from critical scrutiny: if they are popularization of "cyber-" as a prefix for all things digitally networked, but
h.e second, related, claim asserts the also the resonance of his study of feedback with the rise of interactive media
tion of networked communication technologies. His theories focus on technology, whether organic or inorganic
wo claims exhibits the theme of fate (and this persistent link in his work tends to assimilate the two), that relies
n of cyberspace: the assertion that, on detailed data collection in an ongoing process of adjustment to shifting
ritable. As Negroponte puts it, "Like conditions.
e denied or stopped." 25 The breath- In short, Wiener's theories bear directly on contemporary examples of
:en by the assumption that the digi- interactive technology: Web sites that alter their appearance in response to
viewer behavior, interactive billboards that customize their advertising ap-
oining the term that provided the peals, TV shows that change their outcome based on viewer voting, smart
etics-was less sanguine about the homes that change climate conditions on the basis of the .comfort level of
rbert Wiener, the MIT mathemati- residents, electronic "newspapers" that ·sort content in response to reader
~ word for "steersman," haunts the preferences. The persistent use of the prefix "cyber-" .in the popular and
form of the familiar "cyber-" prefix, academic reception of new media serves as an inadvertent but telling clue
11 interactive facilitates increasingly regarding the element of control that characterizes the deployment of inter-
'01. Throughout his writing on cy- activity in "cyberspace"-which, taking a cue from Wiener's work, we might
o questions of power and control, . rethink as "directed space" or "steered space." To put it in terms that will be
1e term itself: "We have decided to developed in more detail in the following chapters, we might approach cy-
munication theory, whether in the berspace as "governed" space, building on the etymological connection high-
bernetics." 26 Rather than trumpet- lighted by Wiener: "we wish to recognize that the first significant paper on
technology, Wiener, writing shortly feed-back mechanisms is an article on governors, which was published by
guarded pessimism toward the sci- Clerk Maxwell in 1868 and that governor is derived from a Latin corruption
and theorize: "there are those who of kubernetes [the Greek word for steersman] "29
nding of man and society which is If'the genealogy of new media interactivity can be traced back to cyber-
:icipate and outweigh the incidental netic theories of feedback-enhanced command and control, the latter took
~ntration of power (which is always root in military research. Specifically, the task that occupied the attention of
~xistence, in the hands of the most Wiener and his colleagues during their World War II research and an example
1 compelled to say that it is a very that reappears throughout his work on cybernetics is the coupling of radar
and servomechanisms in the development of guided antiaircraft artillery. Far
academic literature on interactiv- from being anti-industrial, cybernetic theory envisioned the autonomiza-
[on of interactivity inevitably draws tion of industrial technology. Wiener envisions the possibility of automated
lined by Wiener:' the latter's work- factories equipped with devices that combine the mechanical "muscle" of
>lace to start in contextualizing and the first industrial revolution with the "brains" (and senses) of the commu-
8
Obviously, the notion of intera<::- nication-based one. In predicting the eventual development of an "assembly
 [ 20 ] CHAPTER ONE

line without human agents," he noted, "It has long been clear to me that information gathering and so
the modern ultra-rapid computing machine was in principle an ideal cen- Negroponte and Bill Gates lo
tral nervous system to an apparatus for automatic control." 3°Crucial to such respond to the individuals m<
control is the development of an interactive capability-the ability not just distinction itself isn't as clear-1
to communicate a signal or message, but to incorporate the process of an For the moment, most fon
ongoing adjustment to shifting conditions of reception into the communi- rely on autonomous machine
cation process. mans are in charge of managi
Tellingly, Wiener highlighted the possibility that a cybernetic model orities, and overseeing the eqt
might be deployed not just as a technique of mechanical control, but also as our shopping habits by, for ex
one of social control. Indeed, he considered strategies of scientific manage- we're reading, this is not only <
ment (discussed in Chapter 3) as an early form of programming that pre- also information that is used,
saged computer programming and the automated workplace. The use of strategies devised by researcht:
cybernetic systems, he warned, might result in a society in which entrenched tive, it is the use of feedback
economic and political powers consolidated their control by modifying mes- advertising messages. This is
sages based on audience feedback. He describes a not- unfamiliar scenario, sharing: the assertion that corn
with undisguised bitterness directed toward his own contribution to military ducers and thus to have a say ir
technology (in 1946, Wiener announced, "I do not expect to publish any fu- gathering process allows therr
ture work of mine which may do damage in the hands of irresponsible mili- self. Are those who equate po
tarists"): veillance to be numbered am<
Wiener's "exploiters of gullib
A certain precise mixture of religion, pornography, and pseudo-science will sell
an illustrated newspaper. A certain blend of wheedling, bribery, and intimidation sharing i.s not a novel artifact 1
will induce a young scientist to work on guided missiles or the atomic bomb. ideology of marketplace demo
To determine these, we have our machinery of fan-ratings, straw votes, opinion promise of demand signaling ;:
samplings and other psychological investigations with the common man as their offer a critique of this equation
object. ... Luckily for us, these merchants of lies, these exploiters of gullibility overview of the ways in which
have not yet arrived at such a pitch of perfection as to have things all their own tural, social, and political reah
way.3'

Note the guarded pessimism of the "not yet." The flip side of the revolution-
ary promise of interactive media, in other words, may well be the attempt to
attain this level of perfection: to craft the perfect pitch.
One objection to such a line of argument may be that cybercelebrants like
Celia Pearce and Nicholas Negroponte aren't talking about the same kind
of interactivity that Wiener considers in his discussion of cybernetics. What
they're interested in is the forms of person-to-person communication and
collaboration facilitated by interactive technologies. Celebratory accounts of
interactivity tend to blur this distinction, in part because they focus on the
 INTRODUCTION [ 21 ]

"It has long been clear to me that information gathering and sorting power of the technology itself (Nicholas
chine was in principle an ideal cen- Negroponte and Bill Gates love to talk about "smart" environments-that
automatic control." 3°Crucial to such respond to the individuals moving through them), and in part because the
ctive capability-the ability not just distinction itself isn't as clear-cut as it might seem.
1ut to incorporate the process of an For the moment, most forms of interactive information gathering don't
ms of reception into the communi- rely on autonomous machinery. As in the case of the antiaircraft gun, hu-
mans are in charge of managing the information gathering, setting the pri-
~ossibility that a cybernetic model orities, and overseeing the equipment. When we provide information about
ue of mechanical control, but also as our shopping habits by, for example, letting Amazon.com know what books
ered strategies of scientific manage- we're reading, this is not only a form of communication with a machine. It is
1rly form of programming that pre- also information that is used, albeit automatically, to consolidate marketing
~ automated workplace. The use of strategies devised by researchers and programmers. From Wiener's perspec-
sult in a society in which entrenched tive, it is the use of feedback by decision makers to more effectively target
ated their control by modifying mes- advertising messages. This is precisely what the cybercelebrants call power
describes a not- unfamiliar scenario, sharing: the assertion that consumers now have the ability to talk back to pro-
rard his own contribution to military ducers and thus to have a say in production decisions-as if this information-
l, "I do not expect to publish any fu- gathering process allows them to take control of the production process it-
~e in the hands of irresponsible mili- self. Are those who equate power sharing with a willing submission to sur-
veillance to be numbered among the gullible, or among the accomplices of
Wiener's "exploiters of gullibility"? The equation of feedback with power
nography, and pseudo:-science will sell
~f wheedling, bribery, and intimidation
sharing i.s not a novel artifact of the new media era; it is the extension of the
guided missiles or the atomic bomb. ideology of marketplace democracy into the digital age: the perfection of the
~ry of fan-ratings, straw votes, opinion promise of demand signaling as the essence of democracy. Later chapters will
gations with the common man as their offer a critique of this equation in more detail. The following chapters offer an
ts of lies, these exploiters of gullibility overview of the ways in which this equation fonctions in the economic, cul-
:fection as to have things all their own tural, social, and political realms.

: yet." The flip side of the revolution-

er words, may well be the attempt to
e perfect pitch.
rient may be that cybercelebrants like
aren't talking about the same kind
i his discussion of cybernetics. What

rson-to-person communication and'

~chnologies. Celebratory accounts of
in, in part because they focus on the

CoUege Library
 NOTES

ttion as an antidote to the un-

lre. Rather, we have to imagine
neaningful participation (and
against the background of the CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION
I. "Peek-a-boo Google Sees You;' CNNmoney.com, 7 April 2006, at http:! /money.
) mine the contradictions em-
cnn.com/ 2006/ 04/ 06/techno logyI googsf_reut/ index.htm ?section =money_top-
e that exploits the promise of
stories (accessed 28 October 2006).
of consumer and citizen man- 2. My use of this term is influenced by James Boyle's article on the fate of intellec-
11 of interactivity out of hand, tual property in the digital era. However, the analysis in this book combines the
ie forms of interactivity it has metaphorical and physical aspects of the enclosure movement. Whereas Boyle
inking of the question of par- emphasizes the ways in which information that was actually or potentially in the
public domain becomes private property, I am interested in both the privatiza-
1 of"interactivity," we may well
tion of personal and public information and the apparatuses used to capture this
iia production, but we run the
information-apparatuses that comprise a digital enclosure wherein behaviors
: what came before rather than are monitored and recorded. For more on Boyle's discussion of the digital en-
could provide us with endless closure, see James Boyle, "The Second Enclosure Movement and the Construc-
lity TV formats, podcasts with tion of the Public Domain," Law and Contemporary Problems 66 (winter-spring
interactively enhanced media- 2003): 33-74.
3. Vincent Mosco develops the notion of the "cybernetic commodity" in The Pay-
the possibility of retreat: each
Per Society: Computers and Communication in the Information Age (Toronto:
tposed of mass,..customized ex-
Ablex, 1989).
4, Edward J. Dowan and Sally J. McMillan, "Defining Interactivity: A Qualitative
1g the numbness of eviscerated Identification of Key Dimensions;' New Media and Society 2, no. 2 (2000): 165.
scent postmodern savviness. It 5. Spiro Kiousis, "Interactivity: A Concept Explication," New Media and Society 4,
ike interactivity, freedom, and no. 3 (2002): 371.
:o which they refer with an in- 6. Scott McNeally, "On the Record: Scott McNeally;' San Francisco Chronicle, 14
September 2003, sec. 11.
iise of democracy mobilized by
7. Paul Magnusson, "They're Watching You," Business Week, 24 January 2005, 22.
: specter of a benumbed popu- 8. Frederic Jameson, "Reification and Utopia in Mass Culture;' in Signatures of the
1is situation of 'crisis in percep- Visible '(New York: Routledge, 1992), 9-34.
1e crude ear to hear music, but 9. Kathy Prentice, "TiVo's World," Media Life Magazine, at http:! /archives
~stion of training the eye to see .medialifemagazine.com/news2000/juloo/jub/news70705.html (accessed 1 March
the interactive era, it is also no 2005).
10. Michael Lewis, "Boombox," New York Times Magazine, 13 August 2000, 36.
ted forms of participation, but
1i. Ibid.
rticipation. 12. Harry Flood, "Linux, TiVo, Napster ... Information Wants to be Free, You Got a
Problem with That?" Adbusters 34 (March-April 2002): 17.
13. See, for example, Sut Jhally and Bill Livan, "Watching as Working: The Valori-
zation of Audience Consciousness;' Journal of Communication 36, no. 3 (1986):
124-43.
14. Mosco, Pay-Per Society.
 [ 270 ] NOTES TO PAGES 14-24

15. The story about marketing to pregnant mothers comes from Erik Larson's The 9. Mack, "Power to the People."
Naked Consumer: How Our Private Lives Become Public Commodities (New York: 10. Ibid.
Henry Holt, 1992).
II.Jonah Peretti, "The Life of an Int~
16. Slavoj Zizek, The Ticklish Subject (London: Verso, 1999). .html (accessed 20 July 2005).
17. Celia Pearce, The Interactive Book (New York: Penguin, 1997), 180.
12. C. K. Prahald and Venkat Ramasw1
18. Ibid., 183.
ing Unique Value with Customers ((
19. Howard Rheingold, Virtual Community: Homesteading the Electronic Frontier 2004).
(Reading, Mass.: Addison-Wesley, 1993), 14.
13. Suzanne D' Amato, "Custom Sties Lei
20. Darin Barney, Prometheus Wired: The Hope for Democracy in the Age of Network ton Post, 17 July 2005, sec. F1.
Technology (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000), 104.
14. Walid Mougayar, Opening Digital ~
21. Pearce, Interactive Book, 185.
for Internet Commerce (New York: M~
22. Ibid., 244. 15. D'Amato, "Custom Sties."
23. James Carey, "Historical Pragmatism and the Internet;' New Media and Society, 16. Steve Inskeep, "Second Life: Real Mor
17, no. 4 (2005): 444.
dio, Morning Edition, 6 November 20
24. As quoted in Vincent Mosco, The Digital Sublime: Myth, Power, and Cyberspace story.php?storyid=6431819.
(Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 2004), 117. 17. As quoted in ibid.
25. Nicholas Negroponte, Being Digital (New York: Knopf, 1995), 229.
18. Richard A. Lanham, The Electronic Ii
26. Norbert Wiener, Cybernetics; or, Control and Communication in the Animal and
(Chicago: University of Chicago Press
the Machine (New York: MIT Press, 1961), 19. 19. Ibid., 51.
27. Ibid., 39.
20. "The World's First Collaborative Sent
28. Kiousis, "Interactivity," 59.
www.whitney.org/ artport/ col1ection/i1
29. Wiener, Cybernetics, 19.
21. PostSecret, at http://postsecret.blogsp<
30. Ibid., 185.
22. Danny Bradbury, "Remixing the Blogo:
31. Norbert Wiener, The Human Use of Human Beings: Cybernetics and Society (Bos-
technology.guardian.co.uk/online/stor
ton, Mass.: Houghton Mifflin, 1954), 185. 2006).
23. "David Bowie Mash-up Contest," Dav
CHAPTER 2. THREE DIMENSIONS OF iCULTURE
.com/neverFollow (accessed 4 April 20<
I. "Nike Retailing Innovation;' Retail Systems, at http://www.retailsystems.com/
24. "Forget-Me-Not Panties: Contagious !v
index.cfm?PageName=PublicationsTONHomeNew&CartoonArticleID=4394
getmenotpanties.contagiousmedia.org/
(accessed 11 July 2005). 2004).
2. "Nike iD;' NikeID.com, at http://nikeid.nike.com/nikeid/index.jhtml?_requestid
25. Jeffrey Rosen, The Unwanted Gaze: Tht
=2357796#home( accessed 14 July 2005).
York: Random House, 2000), 200.
3. Ibid.
26. Zizi Papacharissi, "The Presentation ol
4. Josh Marshall, "Talking Points Memo;' Talking Points Memo, at http://www
Personal Home Pages," Journalism and,
.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/week_2oos_o7_10.php (accessed 14 July 2005). (2002): 658.
5. Ann M. Mack, "Power to the People," Critical Mass, 11 November 2000, at http://
27. Katha Pollitt, "Personal History: Webstai
www.criticalmass.com/about/news/view.do?article=cm_11010o&year=2000 (ac-
28. Sherry Turkle, Life on the Screen: Identi
cessed 18 July 2005).
Simon & Schuster, 1997), 18.
6. "My Logo: Are We the New Brand Bullies? Hijacking the Brand," Toronto Star, 10 29. Ibid., 14.
July 2005, sec. D4. 30. "Check My Mate," Checkmymate.com,
7. Reuters, "Nike Designs Get Personal," Los Angeles Times, 30 May 2005, sec. C5. cessed 28 September 2005).
8. "My Logo:' 31. Ibid.