Economies of the Internet
What we do when we are online is inextricably linked to economics. Restrictions on commercial use of the Internet were lifted in 1991 and a small number of commercial sites existed on the Web even prior to its popularization from 1993–94. Today, tweeting news events, searching for information on movie screenings, talking to others, or producing and consuming cultural goods like music or videos typically happens on commercial platforms and through commercial service providers running on proprietary devices. We increasingly do our shopping, or our consumer research, via the Web. Advertising saturates our online experiences and mechanisms to capture valuable taste data penetrate our everyday, interpersonal interactions conducted through digital systems.
