People’s Platform

From a cutting-edge cultural commentator, a bold and brilliant challenge to cherished notions of the internet as the great leveler of our age.The internet has been hailed as an unprecedented democratising force, a place where everyone can participate.• So why are minorities and marginalized groups under-represented on user-generated websites, with less than 15% of Wikipedia written by women?• Why does keyword-jammed and star-studded churnalism proliferate, at the expense of in-depth, investigative journalism?• And how have a handful of giant corporations like Facebook, Google and Apple seized control of our creativity, galvanizing individuals to produce content for free?`The People’s Platform’ argues that for all our `sharing’, the internet reflects real-world inequalities as much as it reduces them. Attention accrues to those who already have it. Cultural products are increasingly valued more as opportunities for data collection for distributors – content creators receive little for their efforts. News filters mean people mistake what interests them for what is really important. And we pay for our `free’ access to content by offering up our personal details to advertisers.The online world does offer a unique opportunity for greater freedom, but a democratic community that supports the diverse and lasting will not spring up from technology alone. If we want the internet to be a people’s platform, we will have to make it so.