KOMODIFIKASI PENGGUNA LAYANAN MESIN PENCARI DAN MEDIA SOSIAL DI INTERNET

Abstract

Abstrak Saat ini para pengguna media dan layanan berbasis Internet dibius oleh ilusi kebebasan berekspresi dan kemudahan komunikasi melalui berbagai layanan berbasis “user generated content”, namun sesungguhnya mereka menukar hak akses terhadap berbagai layanan tersebut dengan hilangnya privasi terhadap data-data pribadi. Privasi dan kebebasan berekspresi di ruang maya kini telah menjadi komoditas yang memiliki nilai ekonomi bagi kapitaliskapitalis jenis baru di ruang maya. Struktur industri komunikasi yang kini merambah pula media baru, yaitu media-media yang menggunakan Internet sebagai saluran distribusinya, mengalami perubahan cara pandang dan strategi dalam melakukan akumulasi modal. Melalui perantaraan teknologi informasi dan komunikasi moderen, para pemodal kini dapat melakukan kustomasi produk yang disesuaikan dengan kebutuhan spesifik individu. Untuk itu informasi mengenai jati diri pada level individu menjadi aset yang berharga bagi para pemodal. Institusi-institusi bisnis media dan layanan online kemudian menjadikan informasi mengenai karakteristik pengguna di level individu sebagai komoditas, selain akses untuk menjangkau para pengguna tadi. Kajian ekonomi politik dalam makalah ini berupaya menunjukkan bagaimana kebebasan berekpresi menjadi komoditas yang ditawarkan kepada para pengguna layanan internet, menggantikan konten sebagai pemikat utama bagi audiens media massa konvensional. Sementara itu para pengguna kehilangan privasi dan kendali atas data-data pribadi yang dimilikinya, karena pengelola layanan online menawarkan hal itu kepada para pemodal lain sebagai komoditas. Tulisan ini juga mencoba menunjukkan bahwa para kapitalis layanan online dengan dibantu media-media konvensional, mempromosikan trend untuk menggunakan kebebasan berekpresi, terkoneksi, dan berbagi dengan orang lain melalui layanan-layanan online. Konsep hegemoni digunakan untuk menganalisa mengapa ide mengenai masyarakat yang saling terkoneksi (networked society) diterima sebagai suatu konsekuensi logis dari kemajuan teknologi dan dianggap sebagai suatu kewajaran, walaupun sesungguhnya merupakan bagian dari ideologi kapitalisme. Abstract Media and Internet users nowadays are so much influenced by the illusion of freedom of expression as well as the simplicity in communicate each other. It was initiated through the sophisticated services that allow its users to have “user generated content” applications. However what they are doing in fact is to exchange their access privilege with the loss of their privacy rights towards their personal data. Privacy and freedom of expression issues in cyber world are now becoming commodities that possess economy values for whom so-called new form of capitalists. Communication industries’ structure, including those who explore new media business with the Internet as the infrastructure, has been experiencing a change of perception and strategy in conducting capital accumulation. Throughout the modernization of information and communication technologies, investors now can do product customizations, which are adjusted to individual specific needs. For that reason the information about personal identity became a valuable asset for those investors. Many institutions of media industry and online service then brought the information of users’ characteristics in individual level as a commodity, as well as the access to reach those individuals. The political economy analysis in this paper was used to show how the freedom of expression became a commodity that was offered to the Internet users. It was brought up in order to substitute the value of content, the factor that was constructed as the main attraction for audience within conventional mass media. On the other hand, the users are losing their privacy and control of their personal data, because online service providers have been offering those issues as commodities to the investors. This paper also tried to show that the online service capitalists, with the help of conventional media, have been promoting the trend to use the freedom of expression. The new trend is how people are connected and share their expression with others through online services. The concept of hegemony was used to analyze why the idea of networked society was accepted as a logical consequence of the development of technologies and was regarded as a common thing, even though it was in fact a part of capitalism ideology.