In this article, I inquire into Facebook’s development as a platform by situating it within the transformation of social network sites media platforms. explore shift with historical perspective on, what refer to as, platformization, or rise dominant infrastructural and economic model web its consequences. Platformization entails extension platforms rest their drive make external data “platform ready.” The specific technological architecture ontological distinctiveness will be examined taking...

The paper examines Facebook’s ambition to extend into the entire web by focusing on social buttons and developing a medium-specific platform critique. It contextualises rise of counters as metrics for user engagement links them different economies. Like enable multiple data flows between various actors, contributing simultaneous de- re-centralisation web. They allow instant transformation numbers button counters, which can be traded multiplied but also function tracking devices. increasing...

The purpose of this article is to operationalise an evolutionary perspective on the history social media and trace Facebook's evolution from a networking site "platform-as-infrastructure". Social platforms such as Facebook change constantly level their platform architectures, interfaces, governance frameworks, control mechanisms, all while responding larger environments. By examining programmability corporate partnerships, we develop empirical historical analysis platform's boundary dynamics...

Facebook's usage has reached a point that the platform's infrastructural ambitions are to be taken very seriously. To understand company's evolution in age of mobile media, we critically engage with political economy platformization. This article puts forward conceptual framework and methodological apparatus study economic growth expanding platform boundaries ecosystem through an analysis Facebook Messenger app. Through financial institutional analysis, examine Messenger's business dimension...

Critical scholars contend that ‘There is no AI without Big Tech’. This study delves into the substantial role played by major technology conglomerates, including Amazon, Microsoft, and Google (Alphabet), in ‘industrialisation of artificial intelligence’. concept encapsulates shift technologies from research development stage to practical, real-world applications across diverse industry sectors, resulting new dependencies associated investments. We employ term ‘Big AI’ encapsulate structural...

This article discusses methodological approaches to app studies, focusing on their embeddedness and situatedness within multiple infrastructural settings. Our approach involves close attention the multivalent affordances of apps as software packages, particularly capacity enter into diverse groupings relations depending different situations. The changing situations they evoke participate in, accordingly, make visible accountable in a variety unique ways. Therefore, engaging with even staging...

This paper enquires into the politics of real-time in online media. It suggests that cannot be accounted for as a universal temporal frame which events happen, but explores making from device perspective focusing on temporalities platforms. Based an empirical study exploring pace at various media produce new content, we trace different rhythms, patterns or tempos created by interplay devices, users’ web activities and issues. What emerges are distinct forms ‘realtimeness’ not external...

Social media platforms’ digital advertising revenues depend considerably on partnerships. Business partnerships are endemic and essential to the business of platforms, yet their role remains relatively underexplored in literature platformisation platform power. This article considers significance social ecosystem better understand how industry infrastructure they build, mediate shape power governance. We argue that partners contribute ‘platformisation’ through collective development...

‘Super apps’ are on the rise. This study explores characteristics, origins, and manifestations of these apps worldwide, presenting concept ‘super-appification’ to describe processes conglomeration in global digital economy. Super aim become deeply integrated into people’s everyday lives, capturing monetising essential activities. By analysing 41 super apps, we identify four distinct types ‘super-app constellations’, showcasing different patterns dynamics conglomeration: ‘Swiss-Army Knife’...

In this article, we propose a methodological outlook for historical platform studies to increase the prominence of historiography in field and practice web history archiving. We discuss challenges social media archiving research opportunities ‘platform’ by focusing on distinctive characteristics web-based ‘platforms’. Based our review literature, argue that it is critical foreground how contemporary platforms serve multiple user groups beyond end users (e.g. developers, business, investors)...

Researchers, policymakers, and competition regulation authorities worldwide recognize the utility of application programming interfaces (APIs) in powering digital economy driving datafication platformization processes. However, it remains unclear how APIs leading social media relate to platform governance this relationship evolved. This article traces evolution Facebook’s APIs, which evolved from a relatively simple interface for data access into complex layered interconnected arrangement....

The artificial intelligence (AI) sector is experiencing rapid growth, with a projected market size of $1.3 trillion by 2032 according to industry reports. landscape shifted significantly the launch ChatGPT in late 2022, prompting major players like Google, Amazon, Microsoft, and Meta, alongside popular apps such as TikTok Snapchat, make substantial investments AI. There has been an influx new AI products updates, reshaping industry’s structure scale. Additionally, there surge acquisitions...

This article provides an exploratory systematic mapping of the global ecosystem COVID-19 pandemic response apps.After considering policy updates by Google Play's and Apple's App Store, we analyse all available apps in July 2020; their different types; apps' developers geographical distribution; ecosystem's ' generativity' developers' responsiveness during unfolding pandemic; discursive positioning; material conditions development.Google Apple are gatekeepers these app ecosystems exercise...

The blogosphere has played an instrumental role in the transition and evolution of linking technologies practices. This research traces maps historical changes Dutch interconnections between blogs, which — traditionally considered turn a set blogs into blogosphere. paper will discuss definition by asking who actors are make up through its interconnections. aims to repurpose Wayback Machine so as trace map transitions practices over time means digital methods custom software. We then able...

This panel locates and theorizes platform power through five case studies, focussing on: 1) video sharing platforms, 2) app stores, 3) programmatic advertising networks, 4) labor staffing intermediaries, 5) cloud computing. Each study starts with the question: where do relations of dependence take shape on examined platform(s) how are these organized? Addressing this question, panelists hypothesize that is exerted, codified, operationalized around particular infrastructural services, which...

This paper discusses methodological approaches to app studies, focussing on their embeddedness and situatedness within multiple infrastructural settings. Our approach arises by paying close attention the multivalent affordances of apps as software packages, particularly capacity enter into diverse groupings relations depending different situations. The changing situations they evoke participate in, accordingly, makes visible accountable in a variety unique ways. Engaging with even staging...

Social media platform-industry partnerships are essential to understanding the politics and economics of social data circulating among platforms third parties. Using Facebook as a case study, this paper develops novel methodology for empirically surveying historical dynamics industry partner programs. is particularly emblematic one few dominant actors that functions both aggregator digital marketing platform whilst operating multiplicity dedicated programs cater wide array partners. We...