Bounded Ownership: Lessons Learned From Online Platforms in Creating Inclusive Goods
The article explores a part of platform imaginary that is dedicated to property rights. Specifically, it explicates a notion of ownership—called here bounded ownership—that brings benefits to owners through loosening restrictions on property use. Bounded ownership creates online spaces that are more...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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SAGE Publishing
2023-05-01
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| Series: | Social Media + Society |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1177/20563051231175624 |
| _version_ | 1797822250423943168 |
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| author | Tomáš Karger |
| author_facet | Tomáš Karger |
| author_sort | Tomáš Karger |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The article explores a part of platform imaginary that is dedicated to property rights. Specifically, it explicates a notion of ownership—called here bounded ownership—that brings benefits to owners through loosening restrictions on property use. Bounded ownership creates online spaces that are more inclusive and at the same time enables owners to govern them. To fully grasp bounded ownership, the article argues for maintaining the distinction between production and consumption and uses Zelizer’s theory of exchange circuits. With this conceptual toolbox, the article traces the principles of bounded ownership in free and open-source software (FOSS), where they have been present for several decades. It is argued that in FOSS production and consumption constitute separate circuits where ownership is enacted differently. The article then draws a parallel between FOSS and more recent commercial online platforms. It argues that FOSS projects can be considered a layer in the platform ecosystem and at the same time highlights the differences in how bounded ownership is enacted in FOSS and other platforms. While online platforms have been successful in implementing bounded ownership in various sectors, they created deep dependencies on the part of users and content producers. The article concludes by discussing platform practices that retain the inclusiveness of bounded ownership while decreasing the dependency on platforms. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-13T10:05:15Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-43a974059d6c48c2b98fa4251a4f3981 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2056-3051 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-13T10:05:15Z |
| publishDate | 2023-05-01 |
| publisher | SAGE Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Social Media + Society |
| spelling | doaj.art-43a974059d6c48c2b98fa4251a4f39812023-05-22T13:03:25ZengSAGE PublishingSocial Media + Society2056-30512023-05-01910.1177/20563051231175624Bounded Ownership: Lessons Learned From Online Platforms in Creating Inclusive GoodsTomáš KargerThe article explores a part of platform imaginary that is dedicated to property rights. Specifically, it explicates a notion of ownership—called here bounded ownership—that brings benefits to owners through loosening restrictions on property use. Bounded ownership creates online spaces that are more inclusive and at the same time enables owners to govern them. To fully grasp bounded ownership, the article argues for maintaining the distinction between production and consumption and uses Zelizer’s theory of exchange circuits. With this conceptual toolbox, the article traces the principles of bounded ownership in free and open-source software (FOSS), where they have been present for several decades. It is argued that in FOSS production and consumption constitute separate circuits where ownership is enacted differently. The article then draws a parallel between FOSS and more recent commercial online platforms. It argues that FOSS projects can be considered a layer in the platform ecosystem and at the same time highlights the differences in how bounded ownership is enacted in FOSS and other platforms. While online platforms have been successful in implementing bounded ownership in various sectors, they created deep dependencies on the part of users and content producers. The article concludes by discussing platform practices that retain the inclusiveness of bounded ownership while decreasing the dependency on platforms.https://doi.org/10.1177/20563051231175624 |
| spellingShingle | Tomáš Karger Bounded Ownership: Lessons Learned From Online Platforms in Creating Inclusive Goods Social Media + Society |
| title | Bounded Ownership: Lessons Learned From Online Platforms in Creating Inclusive Goods |
| title_full | Bounded Ownership: Lessons Learned From Online Platforms in Creating Inclusive Goods |
| title_fullStr | Bounded Ownership: Lessons Learned From Online Platforms in Creating Inclusive Goods |
| title_full_unstemmed | Bounded Ownership: Lessons Learned From Online Platforms in Creating Inclusive Goods |
| title_short | Bounded Ownership: Lessons Learned From Online Platforms in Creating Inclusive Goods |
| title_sort | bounded ownership lessons learned from online platforms in creating inclusive goods |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1177/20563051231175624 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT tomaskarger boundedownershiplessonslearnedfromonlineplatformsincreatinginclusivegoods |