Self-Expression, Web 2.0, and Value
Andy Warhol Dollar Sign, 1982
I just finished watching part 3 of Century of the Self, a 4-part series that describes the relationship between psychology and the sociopolitical trends of the 20th century.
Part 3 talks about the transition from the mid-60s, through the 70’s, and into the 80’s. It describes a shift from collective ideals of conformity to individuality, ultimately aimed toward self-actualization.
The brilliant thing about the 70’s and 80’s is that as people became more focused on personal satisfaction and self-expression, the capitalist system kept up by offering a huge variety of new products to reflect each person’s individual self-image. Whereas previously, people felt they were more unique than they could possibly express, now they felt they could perfectly express themselves though the products they consumed. The problem became one of over-identifying with the products one buys.
If one could not buy clothes and cars and homes that reflect their individual style, they would only be able to express themselves through what they produce themselves: words, art, and movement. However once one feels sufficiently self-expressed materially, it may be easy to forget that each person is still more unique than can possibly be expressed materially.
I think there is a trend happening where people are expressing their individuality more completely, and companies are keeping up by producing products to facilitate this self-expression. If there is a limit to how much material items can express one’s individuality, then creativity must make up the difference, allowing people to fully express themselves, regardless of their material choices.
People have always been able to express themselves creatively, using words, images, and movement. However, it has been hard to capitalize on these deeper forms of self-expression. Besides selling talented individuals’ self-expression, in the form of art, media, and performance, there have been few ways for companies to make money from the average person’s drive to express their individuality.
With the advent of web 2.0, people’s need to express themselves has been met with innumerable forms of expression. Chat rooms, bulletin boards, blogs, videos, music, myspace, and personal websites are a few examples of new forms of self-expression that didn’t exist 20 years ago. If anything can be predicted, it’s that capitalism will adapt to society by providing value in exchange for capital.
The interesting thing is that web 2.0 doesn’t fit the standard model of “value for capital” in the same way selling material items does. It’s closer to the way television networks profit by the advertisements they sell, while basically giving away their programming for free. The networks are a means of reaching people, and the advertisers know that, so the airtime becomes a valuable means of getting people to spend money on certain products and certain companies.
Web 2.0 follows this format in that it gives away many of it’s most valuable services: Blogger, YouTube, and MySpace are all free services, but they survive by selling screen real estate to advertisers who want to target their specific audience though those services. Web 2.0 services allow people to express their innermost thoughts and feelings, and capitalists are keeping up by providing the means for free, while profiting from the exposure they provide for advertisers.
There’s nothing inherently wrong with this. Companies need to make money, so they can continue to provide valuable goods and services. The companies also provide jobs, which creates more wealth for everyone. An important issue, though, is the value of the products being produced.
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A new paradigm of marketing emerged with the internet. Suddenly it was easier to target a specific audience by advertising on niche websites. While some marketers still ascribe to the philosophy of “shouting the loudest” to get consumers’ attention (by showing flashy, attention-grabbing ads), others are figuring out that value trumps “volume” in the age of viral marketing.
Marketing guru Seth Godin talks about being “remarkable” to be successful. When a product or service offers something truly unique and valuable, people will talk about it. Now that people can communicate more easily and more frequently than ever, the value of being “remarkable” has increased, and marketers are starting to adjust accordingly.
Value is basically a measure of how well something can get you what you want. If something can meet your needs, it has high value (in one sense). If it doesn’t cast a lot for you to get that thing to meet your needs, it has even greater value (in another sense).
Value = power / cost
Value is the power something has to meet your needs, compared to the cost to you.
Throughout history, it’s fair to say that value rules. Everyone has needs to be met; the the most effective and least expensive means of meeting people’s needs tend to survive, while the less “valuable” means fail.
In the modern capitalist world, value still rules. The ideal is that goods and services are traded for a fair amount of capital (money). You give your employer your time and effort, and you get money in return. Your grocier provides food for you, and you give him your money. The beautiful thing is that when people have choices about where to shop, the businesses vying for that money need to provide the highest quality product at the cheapest price, in order to compete for your money. The consumer’s freedom to shop elsewhere ensures businesses will provide the best quality product they can, to keep you as a customer.
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So I think we will see web 2.0 provide more ways for people to express their individuality, while online marketing drives the web by promoting products of ever-increasing value.
8 months ago