| The famous American communication scholar Dan Schiller’s research on communication and labor gives a profound revelation to the world,it makes us understand that only by returning to the scope of labor to explore communication,communication research can be effectively promoted.Throughout the history of communication,it is the process that the human beings create new communication tools in the productive labor,and constantly improve their communication ability.In the information age,the production and consumption of information plays an increasingly important role in the process of accumulation of information capital.Net work technology is a representative fonn of technology in the information age,it creates a huge bit space,and it provides an enormous gigantic platform for the dissemination of information for human beings,people can be engaged in the information dissemination activities in cyberspace regardless of their identities,regions,age and genders.As an important carrier of information,the network has been embedded in the economic structure,and it promotes the rapid development of social economy.From the perspective of communication,the production and consumption of information in cyberspace is also a kind of information dissemination activities.Dan Schiller believes that communication is a kind of productive labor,and he points out that people can create information products and form a consensus through communication.This view can be found in Marx’s theory of productive labor.Marx believed that as long as the labor created the surplus value beyond the necessary cost for the capitalists,it was productive.In the empowement of this new communication technology--network,the dissemination of information in cyberspace can create a lot of wealth for the network mediums as the administrators,and it means that it can create huge surplus value.Therefore,the information dissemination activity in cyberspace is a kind of productive labor,since it is a kind of productive labor,it means that those who engage in information dissemination are the laborers.Generally speaking,the users of the network are the network users,and the use of the network will inevitably exist information dissemination behavior.Therefore,the network users become the important laborers in cyberspace and a powerful force to promote rapid development of network economy.If the network is seen as a huge information ecosystem,that the information niche of the network users is especially important,because under the empowerment of the network technology,the amount of information produced by network users has exceeded the professional information production of the network media,information search,click browse,production content and so on are important sources of profit for online media,but also the focus of attention of advertisers.That is to say,the network media information product development,management and sales,advertising products for sale,as well as the individual,the organization of network information are all around the labor of the network users to expand,it can be seen the importance of network users in the network information ecosystem.Based on the network users--an important laborer,the network mediums develop the platform economy,sharing economy,experience economy,fans economy,community economy and the economy of online games and a series of network economic model,making the network medium capital value-added path changed,and creating the new growth rule for the network economy.However,in the cyberspace,the empowerment object of the network technology should include the network mediums as management in addition to the network users.Network technology provides convenient conditions in the network space for network users to work,at the same time,it makes the network users’ working space be greatly liberated,and it makes the network medium as the administrators hide their power through network technology.The network technology controls the labor process of network users through economic,cultural and other power capital and the network user’s labor is firmly controlled in its own hands to provide the guarantee condition,making the work of network users are always in the power system of network medium.Being different from the production in the real society,the mode of production in the network user’s labor has its own unique characteristics,that is,the new productive forces and the variation of production relations.As far as the new productivity is concerned,the laborers,the tools of labor and the objects of labor are all new,the workers are the majority of the network users,the labor tools are the brains of the people,and the objects of labor are the resources of information and computer.On the variation of the relations of production,in addition to the network medium employees(just a tiny fraction of network users,usually denoted as OGC)can obtain a certain amount of economic compensation according to the provisions of the contract,the vast majority of network users(usually expressed in UGC)are not involved in the distribution of labor outcomes,but they continue to invest their time,money,culture and capital to produce information products,suffered the most thorough exploitation,but the network users have no reason to require network medium pay them,because there is no employment legal relationship between them,the network mediums skillfully build the network platform to attract the labor of the network users.In fact,this is a kind of employment in the use of the platform(the use of the platform is employed),but there is no clear relationship between rights and obligations,so the labor process of network users,and the labor relations are covered.This can be said to be an alienation of production relations:a large number of UGC groups use their computers and other means of production,as well as the brain and other labor tools to work,but by the network mediums exploit all the labor fruits without any economic compensation.In the work of the network users,the network user’s labor force can also be produced continuously,and the network medium,as the management of the network,is constantly requisitioning the network user’s labor force.In the network space,the content of the reproduction of the labor force of the network users also includes three aspects:the recovery of the laborers’ physical and mental,the reproduction of the new generation of laborers,and the reproduction of the skillful and complex labor force.It is worth noting that the way of labor reproduction of network users has changed,that is being sold in the capital to achieve reproduction and reproduction with the spirit of enjoyment in this way,no obvious tendency of social reproduction,reproduction cost by network media skillfully passed on to workers or(and)their relatives and friends,and the network mediums eliminate the confrontation in the network users1 labor force through technology,economy and other capital powers.The way of expropriation of network users also has changed,that is,the labor relations changes from the contract to the "generalized employment",the objects of acquisition change from skilled personnel to the general public,the acquisition process is also strictly in accordance with the recruitment process to openly(for the majority of Internet users anytime,anywhere)change.In the labor of network users,the issue of labor remuneration is a matter of concern.There are three groups of network users,such as OGC,PGC,UGC and so on,they all create the huge surplus value for the network mediums as administrators.The OGC group is the employees of the network medium,they signed employment contract with the network mediums,they can periodically obtain corresponding economic rewards from the network mediums.While a large number and unprofessional groups are the UGC groups,they have no financial rewards,and the cost of the production of information products are payed by themselves or(and)their relatives and friends.The surplus value they create is full of excess surplus value.The paradox is the network users are still bored into labor in the case of huge economic exploitation.The reason is the network mediums make the dissemination of science and technology,information,labor,labor force,labor time,labor space,social factors such as social relations,social rights,and entertainment and emotional experience in labor commercialized,and cleverly cover the labor process and labor relations,making it difficult for the network users to realize that they are working for the network mediums.In addition,one of the most important reasons for network users to enjoy their work is that they have received a non economic reward such as social relations,social status and prestige,social norms,trust,reciprocity(share),social morality,public spirit,family and clan relations and other social capital,and these forms of non economic compensation are more in line with the needs of people in the information society. |
