Marc Steinberg
@msteinbrg.bsky.social
Writing about platforms capitalisms, super apps, convenience stores in Japan and Asia. Director of The Platform Lab.Books: In/Convenience (http://bit.ly/3Vcs4m4); The Platform Economy; Anime's Media Mix.
Pinned
Marc Steinberg
@msteinbrg.bsky.social
· Nov 11
Sage Journals: Discover world-class research
Subscription and open access journals from Sage, the world's leading independent academic publisher.
journals.sagepub.com
Super excited to announce a new piece out in the world: States and platform capitalisms: A conversation. This is a collaboration with some amazing thinkers and friends- led by @sayshatim.bsky.social Joe Khalil @linzhang.bsky.social & @rahmuk.bsky.social
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
Reposted by Marc Steinberg
It's November, 2179 and Americans of all stripes are lining up to cast their vote. Republicans are running an AI of Donald Trump, powered by the data center that now constitutes all of Iowa. Democrats are running a semi-intelligent strain of slime mold that has taken the vague form of Gavin Newsom.
December 13, 2025 at 8:35 PM
It's November, 2179 and Americans of all stripes are lining up to cast their vote. Republicans are running an AI of Donald Trump, powered by the data center that now constitutes all of Iowa. Democrats are running a semi-intelligent strain of slime mold that has taken the vague form of Gavin Newsom.
Reposted by Marc Steinberg
Today's a big day for professional announcements for me. @jcmsjournal.bsky.social published its Spring issue, which includes an open access InFocus coedited by Leo Goldsmith and I. I'm so excited about the topic, SCI FI DOC, which I think is woefully understudied.
quod.lib.umich.edu/j/jcms/infoc...
quod.lib.umich.edu/j/jcms/infoc...
May 22, 2025 at 6:10 PM
Today's a big day for professional announcements for me. @jcmsjournal.bsky.social published its Spring issue, which includes an open access InFocus coedited by Leo Goldsmith and I. I'm so excited about the topic, SCI FI DOC, which I think is woefully understudied.
quod.lib.umich.edu/j/jcms/infoc...
quod.lib.umich.edu/j/jcms/infoc...
A thoughtful piece on social media and sociality... by JP Verne:
Make Social Media Social Again: How Platform Interoperability Can Fix Social Media and Future‐Proof Democracy - Vergne - Journal of Management Studies - Wiley Online Library onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
Make Social Media Social Again: How Platform Interoperability Can Fix Social Media and Future‐Proof Democracy - Vergne - Journal of Management Studies - Wiley Online Library onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
Make Social Media Social Again: How Platform Interoperability Can Fix Social Media and Future‐Proof Democracy
This essay argues that social media document (rather than fuel) the decline of political democracy while helping revive organizational democracy, including through ‘decentralized autonomous organizat...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
December 13, 2025 at 4:22 PM
A thoughtful piece on social media and sociality... by JP Verne:
Make Social Media Social Again: How Platform Interoperability Can Fix Social Media and Future‐Proof Democracy - Vergne - Journal of Management Studies - Wiley Online Library onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
Make Social Media Social Again: How Platform Interoperability Can Fix Social Media and Future‐Proof Democracy - Vergne - Journal of Management Studies - Wiley Online Library onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
This really is a Netflix world. Finalizing my Netflix Effect syllabus at present and the title of the course has renewed relevance
December 5, 2025 at 2:01 PM
This really is a Netflix world. Finalizing my Netflix Effect syllabus at present and the title of the course has renewed relevance
Reposted by Marc Steinberg
I am SO HAPPY to announce that this morning I defended my dissertation "Of Tentacles and Men: How anime shaped the internet as we know it"🥹🥹 I got no revisions and an OUTSTANDING (💅) grade for the presentation wowowow it has been such a journey, thank you to everyone!! 👩🏻🎓🎓🫶🥹❤️🔥✨✨✨
December 3, 2025 at 10:18 PM
I am SO HAPPY to announce that this morning I defended my dissertation "Of Tentacles and Men: How anime shaped the internet as we know it"🥹🥹 I got no revisions and an OUTSTANDING (💅) grade for the presentation wowowow it has been such a journey, thank you to everyone!! 👩🏻🎓🎓🫶🥹❤️🔥✨✨✨
Reposted by Marc Steinberg
Today in E-flux, a piece I wrote on the spatial and environmental politics of AI in the United States. In great company as part of the Technoecologies series curated by Nathalie Bredella and Grayson Bailey. www.e-flux.com/architecture...
Technoecologies - Daniel Cardoso Llach - The Mississippi Colossus
Boxtown is a neighborhood in South Memphis established in 1863 by emancipated former slaves. Since 2024, it is also the home to one of the world’s largest supercomputers, property of Elon Musk’s artif...
www.e-flux.com
November 21, 2025 at 11:52 AM
Today in E-flux, a piece I wrote on the spatial and environmental politics of AI in the United States. In great company as part of the Technoecologies series curated by Nathalie Bredella and Grayson Bailey. www.e-flux.com/architecture...
Very fascinated by this new email scam: I read your article and have questions, give me your contact details that are WhatsApp or LINE etc. These scams play into the egos of academics - wow, someone read my work and wants to talk about it! Who else has received these?
November 20, 2025 at 3:56 PM
Very fascinated by this new email scam: I read your article and have questions, give me your contact details that are WhatsApp or LINE etc. These scams play into the egos of academics - wow, someone read my work and wants to talk about it! Who else has received these?
Reposted by Marc Steinberg
💥 Sovereignty as a service. New article in Media, Culture & Society on how big tech companies are co-opting and redefining digital sovereignty. Co-authored by me and Alexandre Costa Barbosa
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
November 12, 2025 at 9:38 AM
💥 Sovereignty as a service. New article in Media, Culture & Society on how big tech companies are co-opting and redefining digital sovereignty. Co-authored by me and Alexandre Costa Barbosa
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
A brilliant intervention in platform studies and Asia just dropped: "Platformize Asia—Reimagining Asia in Platform Capitalism". It will be one of the most important articles in the new few years. Congrats to @linzhang.bsky.social & @elainejyuan.bsky.social !
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
Sage Journals: Discover world-class research
Subscription and open access journals from Sage, the world's leading independent academic publisher.
journals.sagepub.com
November 11, 2025 at 9:52 PM
A brilliant intervention in platform studies and Asia just dropped: "Platformize Asia—Reimagining Asia in Platform Capitalism". It will be one of the most important articles in the new few years. Congrats to @linzhang.bsky.social & @elainejyuan.bsky.social !
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
Reposted by Marc Steinberg
Black, magenta and an edge data center on the cover of my book about Nairobi, smartphones, platforms, standards, venture capital and digital China. Out in the boreal fall this year 🪩 with U California Press (and OA)
April 8, 2025 at 5:58 PM
Black, magenta and an edge data center on the cover of my book about Nairobi, smartphones, platforms, standards, venture capital and digital China. Out in the boreal fall this year 🪩 with U California Press (and OA)
Reposted by Marc Steinberg
Super excited to announce a new piece out in the world: States and platform capitalisms: A conversation. This is a collaboration with some amazing thinkers and friends- led by @sayshatim.bsky.social Joe Khalil @linzhang.bsky.social & @rahmuk.bsky.social
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
Sage Journals: Discover world-class research
Subscription and open access journals from Sage, the world's leading independent academic publisher.
journals.sagepub.com
November 11, 2025 at 1:06 AM
Super excited to announce a new piece out in the world: States and platform capitalisms: A conversation. This is a collaboration with some amazing thinkers and friends- led by @sayshatim.bsky.social Joe Khalil @linzhang.bsky.social & @rahmuk.bsky.social
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
Reposted by Marc Steinberg
Everyone so often you have a conversation with people that really makes the world make more sense, and so this conversation turned into an article that tries to recreate that. what a joy to have worked on this with @msteinbrg.bsky.social @linzhang.bsky.social @rahmuk.bsky.social and Joe Khalil!
Super excited to announce a new piece out in the world: States and platform capitalisms: A conversation. This is a collaboration with some amazing thinkers and friends- led by @sayshatim.bsky.social Joe Khalil @linzhang.bsky.social & @rahmuk.bsky.social
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
Sage Journals: Discover world-class research
Subscription and open access journals from Sage, the world's leading independent academic publisher.
journals.sagepub.com
November 11, 2025 at 2:07 AM
Everyone so often you have a conversation with people that really makes the world make more sense, and so this conversation turned into an article that tries to recreate that. what a joy to have worked on this with @msteinbrg.bsky.social @linzhang.bsky.social @rahmuk.bsky.social and Joe Khalil!
Super excited to announce a new piece out in the world: States and platform capitalisms: A conversation. This is a collaboration with some amazing thinkers and friends- led by @sayshatim.bsky.social Joe Khalil @linzhang.bsky.social & @rahmuk.bsky.social
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
Sage Journals: Discover world-class research
Subscription and open access journals from Sage, the world's leading independent academic publisher.
journals.sagepub.com
November 11, 2025 at 1:06 AM
Super excited to announce a new piece out in the world: States and platform capitalisms: A conversation. This is a collaboration with some amazing thinkers and friends- led by @sayshatim.bsky.social Joe Khalil @linzhang.bsky.social & @rahmuk.bsky.social
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
Reposted by Marc Steinberg
Oz: “We’ve dropped the infertility drugs to make lots of Trump babies, I’m hoping by the midterms.”
Inflation, unaffordable healthcare, job layoffs, and now you’re referring to future newborns as “Trump babies?”
There’s no fucking way that’s going to happen.
Inflation, unaffordable healthcare, job layoffs, and now you’re referring to future newborns as “Trump babies?”
There’s no fucking way that’s going to happen.
November 6, 2025 at 7:59 PM
Oz: “We’ve dropped the infertility drugs to make lots of Trump babies, I’m hoping by the midterms.”
Inflation, unaffordable healthcare, job layoffs, and now you’re referring to future newborns as “Trump babies?”
There’s no fucking way that’s going to happen.
Inflation, unaffordable healthcare, job layoffs, and now you’re referring to future newborns as “Trump babies?”
There’s no fucking way that’s going to happen.
Reposted by Marc Steinberg
They say the 90s are back. But I won't really believe it till I see people reading the Krokers, and carrying around dot-matrix print-outs of articles from CTHEORY.
November 5, 2025 at 12:56 PM
They say the 90s are back. But I won't really believe it till I see people reading the Krokers, and carrying around dot-matrix print-outs of articles from CTHEORY.
Is LinkedIn the new academic Twitter? A place to share and learn about research?
November 5, 2025 at 4:20 PM
Is LinkedIn the new academic Twitter? A place to share and learn about research?
Reposted by Marc Steinberg
The dark side of Japanese convenience stores - on.ft.com/3Jvk9Ok via @FT @msteinbrg.bsky.social
The dark side of Japanese convenience stores
Rising wages and an ageing workforce put pressure on existing staff
on.ft.com
November 4, 2025 at 11:25 PM
The dark side of Japanese convenience stores - on.ft.com/3Jvk9Ok via @FT @msteinbrg.bsky.social
Seems like a piece to read: tracking "a structural change from the production-to-consumption ‘supply chain’ model of the recording era towards emergent circuits of content that integrate industries and audiences"
doi.org/10.1177/1367...
doi.org/10.1177/1367...
East Asian pop music idol production and the emergence of data fandom in China - Qian Zhang, Keith Negus, 2020
This article traces the formation of popular music idol industries in China and the emergence of data fandom. It charts the growth of digital platforms and hist...
doi.org
November 1, 2025 at 11:31 PM
Seems like a piece to read: tracking "a structural change from the production-to-consumption ‘supply chain’ model of the recording era towards emergent circuits of content that integrate industries and audiences"
doi.org/10.1177/1367...
doi.org/10.1177/1367...
Reposted by Marc Steinberg
Interested in data centers? In critical data center studies?
Here's an open biblio -- anyone can add or borrow from it. Please do add anything that's missing. Enjoy!
docs.google.com/document/d/1...
Here's an open biblio -- anyone can add or borrow from it. Please do add anything that's missing. Enjoy!
docs.google.com/document/d/1...
Critical Data Center Studies
Critical Data Center Studies Books Amoore, Louise. 2020. Ethics Algorithms and the Attributes of Ourselves and Others Duke https://www.dukeupress.edu/cloud-ethics Bedir, M; Groen. L; Kuijpers. M; Sa...
docs.google.com
October 30, 2025 at 8:49 PM
Interested in data centers? In critical data center studies?
Here's an open biblio -- anyone can add or borrow from it. Please do add anything that's missing. Enjoy!
docs.google.com/document/d/1...
Here's an open biblio -- anyone can add or borrow from it. Please do add anything that's missing. Enjoy!
docs.google.com/document/d/1...
Reposted by Marc Steinberg
this unremarkable knob routinely sets unholy gobs of money on fire to pretend his boomer sneaker ad company is innovative and interesting, and the press just endlessly normalizes it
Meta’s Reality Labs posts $4.4 billion loss in third quarter
The Reality Labs business, focused on virtual and augmented reality, lost $4.4 billion loss in third quarter while recording $470 million in sales.
www.cnbc.com
October 30, 2025 at 2:21 PM
this unremarkable knob routinely sets unholy gobs of money on fire to pretend his boomer sneaker ad company is innovative and interesting, and the press just endlessly normalizes it
What does 5 trillion even mean
October 29, 2025 at 8:11 PM
What does 5 trillion even mean
Apply to our Film & Moving Image Studies program! Come to Canada! (And please tell your students to do so if you're a prof like me). Here's Cael Keegan telling you why you should:
youtu.be/juOFger80b0
youtu.be/juOFger80b0
Graduate Programs in Film and Moving Image Studies - Concordia University (Montréal)
YouTube video by Concordia University
youtu.be
October 29, 2025 at 5:10 PM
Apply to our Film & Moving Image Studies program! Come to Canada! (And please tell your students to do so if you're a prof like me). Here's Cael Keegan telling you why you should:
youtu.be/juOFger80b0
youtu.be/juOFger80b0
Reposted by Marc Steinberg
Whatever strategy you’re about to suggest, we’ve thought about it. docs.google.com/document/d/1...
ChatGPT Harm Reduction for Writing Assignments
ChatGPT Harm Reduction for Writing Assignments Because this document has escaped containment, a couple points of explanation. I wrote this for myself and a few colleagues as we work out how to handle...
docs.google.com
October 28, 2025 at 1:02 PM
Whatever strategy you’re about to suggest, we’ve thought about it. docs.google.com/document/d/1...
AI now peer reviewing articles?? This timeline is getting darker by the day. What’s the end point for this?
Also Elsevier is evil
Also Elsevier is evil
October 28, 2025 at 2:55 PM
AI now peer reviewing articles?? This timeline is getting darker by the day. What’s the end point for this?
Also Elsevier is evil
Also Elsevier is evil
Reposted by Marc Steinberg
I "enjoy" this disconnect between tech titans claiming that AI will have us all eating pastries and working two days a week and the reality of firing people en masse while simultaneously supporting fascists who oppose universal basic income and are actively destroying the social safety net
October 28, 2025 at 1:29 PM
I "enjoy" this disconnect between tech titans claiming that AI will have us all eating pastries and working two days a week and the reality of firing people en masse while simultaneously supporting fascists who oppose universal basic income and are actively destroying the social safety net