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
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
💥 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
Monopoly capitalism today
But even if Signal had the billions needed to recreate AWS, it’s not just about money. The talent to run these systems is rare & concentrated. The expertise, the tooling, the playbooks, the very language of modern SRE came out of these hyperscalers, and is now synonymous with 'the cloud.' 9/
October 27, 2025 at 2:08 PM
Monopoly capitalism today
Reposted by Marc Steinberg
📣THREAD: It’s surprising to me that so many people were surprised to learn that Signal runs partly on AWS (something we can do because we use encryption to make sure no one but you–not AWS, not Signal, not anyone–can access your comms).
It’s also concerning. 1/
It’s also concerning. 1/
PSA: we're aware that Signal is down for some people. This appears to be related to a major AWS outage. Stand by.
October 27, 2025 at 10:38 AM
📣THREAD: It’s surprising to me that so many people were surprised to learn that Signal runs partly on AWS (something we can do because we use encryption to make sure no one but you–not AWS, not Signal, not anyone–can access your comms).
It’s also concerning. 1/
It’s also concerning. 1/
Why is Donald touching the Emperor like he’s a mere mortal?
October 27, 2025 at 2:00 PM
Why is Donald touching the Emperor like he’s a mere mortal?
Very proud of my student Aurélie Petit for her work on this. Congratulations Aurélie!!
October 16, 2025 at 11:26 PM
Very proud of my student Aurélie Petit for her work on this. Congratulations Aurélie!!
Reposted by Marc Steinberg
Reposted by Marc Steinberg
There’s been some good work done (Kate Eichorn, @msteinbrg.bsky.social among others), but one of our aesthetic categories badly in need of theorizing right now is “content.” The opposite of “slop” is not a ruined abby overlooking the Lake District.
October 13, 2025 at 9:16 PM
There’s been some good work done (Kate Eichorn, @msteinbrg.bsky.social among others), but one of our aesthetic categories badly in need of theorizing right now is “content.” The opposite of “slop” is not a ruined abby overlooking the Lake District.
How is it that Michael Mann’s Miami Vice is considered a failure when it’s a masterpiece?! The digital grain is just sublime
October 6, 2025 at 3:47 PM
How is it that Michael Mann’s Miami Vice is considered a failure when it’s a masterpiece?! The digital grain is just sublime