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[...] By rewarding advertisers who can successfully predict the keywords that users type in and by punishing those who cannot, Google hopes that AdWords can be relevant and useful to online search.

Nevertheless, AdWords is only profitable because it is a vertically integrated system in which Goo…

The political economic approach to communication conceptualizes technology as a commodity produced by corporations. The goal of corporations is to maximize profit. Political economist study the process of capital accumulation and examine the evolution and renewal of capitalism. [...]

[...] Both stories seem to reinforce that Brin and Page, like many America inventors, deserve their great fortune because they have something useful and unique to offer. In popular thinking, because of the raw talent and grand vision of these inventors, their companies should not be criticized. Ins…

[...] businesses "listen" to social media in order to: find out how consumers interpret their brands; obtain a high-resolution and constantly updated understanding of the market; invest less capital for better feedback; identify key influencers in social media; effectively identify and manage publi…

We purposely describe these practices as surveillance, as this highlights the focused and sustained collection of personal information (Lyon 2001). Our discussions are also intended to further the conception that the use of social media constitutes a form of participatory (Albrechstlund 2008) or co…