We've Made a Fetish out of our 'Stuff'

So I read this book....and I want to talk about it. It's called The Code of Advertising: Fetishism and the Political Economy of Meaning in the Consumer Society, by Sut Jhally. It covers the basics of Marxism, and its relations to products, and the labor force.

Jhally makes it apparent we don't know about our products. Questions concerning the production, distribution, exchange, and consumption of any goods today are frivolous in our climate of advanced capitalism. Who's hands touched this? What were the working conditions like? How much did he/she get paid for it? Was it a child? We are alienated from these worthy questions.

Indifference to the inherent foundation of our goods has led to a mind-blowing phenomenon called commodity fetishism. “Commodity fetishism is seen when an excessive proportion of individual activities are channeled through the market so that the commercialized sector of our lives is unduly large.”

I’ve never had to think twice about the concept of “surplus-value” or profit. Jhally explains there is an exchange of equals in the workforce, worker’s labor for worker’s wage. Although, with this basis, how is profit possible? The shocking, yet not so shocking, fact that workers are producing more value with their labor than their own labor is worth, has bled into the political economics of broadcast media.

Cable networks sell audience-viewing time to advertisers for more money than I can sit comfortably with. The cliffhanger rests in how much are we, as an audience, worth? Networks fill the empty time they own by buying the watching power of the audience, or the capacity to watch. Advertisers buy our watching power (consciousness) from networks for more than what was originally paid, thus valorizing (establish and maintain the price of a commodity by governmental action) our consciousness. We're actually working when we watch TV.

We are paying the networks through our own consciousness. That's irritating. Think you get out of it with new technology like TiVo and Fios? Nope. The cyclical motion of us working in a non-media environment to pay for those commodities validates us right back where we started. Our money, our time, and our mind is handed over to broadcasting networks whether we like it or not.

So why? Why do we even watch TV? Studies show it's addictive, that we don't even really like it, that we feel guilty when we admit just how much we actually watch. Interesting...

Now, I’ve never been convinced of anything extremely negative about the realm of advertising. Although, it only took the first few points of The Code of Advertising to significantly make me question my sense of security.

Jhally’s impressively unbiased view of his observations initially made me assume he was a critique of advertisement. His illustration of Marxism unveiled worker suffrage that seemingly has no signs of improvement. We’re under the mercy of advertisement. His comeback to the defense of advertisement was that it doesn’t offer a reality that isn’t there; rather it reflects aspects of our social life that can be taken interpretively. This isn’t an outlandish concept, although it’s not exactly....soothing. Perhaps it is not advertising I should scapegoat, instead, the industry is merely trying to survive in the world of capitalism. Ultimately, my scope has been broadly widened.

Twitter Stardom

Thanks to advancing technology, people all over the world have the opportunity to whore themselves out to open eyes everywhere. The revolutionizing social media networks such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, allow a broad scope of opinions to be heard. Blogs and posts have the potential to go viral with ease, and can hold the capability to crown any person, of any education level, queen or king of social media. An evolving trend shows that everyday employees are becoming more “famous” than their employers, as in the case of Frank Eliason of Comcast. Of course, there are repercussions and benefits to every angle of everything; but the velocity social media carries in present times calls for more dramatic consequences.

The Benefits

Becoming a known name in the mysterious inter-web gains you access to the cradling arms of potential customers or clients worldwide. People feel like they know you on a more casual level. Simply tweeting personal endeavors of mundane activities throughout your day lets people in on your intimate, boring life. One becomes more relatable, and people love relatable. Your opinions are trusted more and your credibility is increased. Frank Eliason talked to his public about groceries and daily tasks, making his professional conversation sound intriguing as well. Employees who are privy to the technicalities of social media are also beneficial because they’re evolving with the trends. Keeping up with the intricacies of digital networking is tedious and takes time to learn. Having a computer savvy employee eases the rough trek to success. Their insight to what people want, need, and are in-tune to is valuable too.

The Downfalls

With enough followers, an employee could have the power to sway your audience from right under your feet. If the tweeter doesn’t possess enough selflessness, unwanted influences could be held over the public. Gunslinging is another threat to online fame. A difference of opinion between your employee and a follower could cause anger with clients that are not easily consoled. The possibility of information leaking is also something to consider. Monitoring your employee 24/7 is next to impossible; therefore a trusting relationship is always important.

Despite the damages a Twitter “star” could potentially have for an employee, I think it’s ultimately worth the risk. The world of business is metamorphosing and it’s hard to keep up. Defiance to modern technology or insisting on archaic ways is much more detrimental than a possible diva. There will always be the same worries; any employee at any time could have the same threats that those have with digital experience. Granted, they may have faster access to minds; but an employer needs to always have a crisis management plan for any circumstance. The worst that could happen isn’t even that bad. It’s important to stay young and modern in this over-competitive world.

(ps....follow me @brittanyLstone)