The platform economy. How Japan transformed the consumer internet

Alberto Lusoli

Abstract: Platforms are an increasingly salient topic in Science and Technology Studies, management, communication, and media studies. The term ‘platform’ itself has become a broad signifier employed across disciplines to read and make sense of social, cultural, and economic formations. At the same time, platform studies are too often focused on the material dimension of the phenomenon. The technological perspective is indeed relevant and interesting, but if we aim to broaden our understanding of this phenomenon, we must move past the technological dimension of platforms and instead approach them as discourses. Steinberg's ‘Platform Economy’ can act as a good first step in this direction. The book offers what the author calls a ‘transactional’ perspective on platforms. Through it, the author demonstrates and engages critically with the histories, practices, principles, and politics of platforms.