MICROARTICLE #Networks
The Network Society
By: BB2040 Editorial Team
MICROARTICLE Networks Wissensstadt Berlin 2021
Published on June 26, 2021
Entering the information age is also accompanied by a transition to the network society, a society structured through “the interaction between [digital information and communication technologies] and social organisation” [1]. Nevertheless, Castells deliberately does not use the term information or communication society - as our society has always been characterized by communication and the exchange of information - but coins the term network society, networks that transcend time and space due to the new technologies. [2]
Accordingly, the network society also resulted in increased productivity and efficiency, as well as an acceleration of technological innovation. Thus, this change in society has also given rise to entirely new corporate models. For example, today's degree of connectivity within these networks enables the unbureaucratic and direct manufacturing and distribution of products. As platform economies, these corporate models facilitate a direct marketing of products between suppliers and customers. The power with which such models influence the market - and consequently the changes they bring to our lives - is demonstrated by examples such as Airbnb, Uber or Lieferando. [3]
[1] Castells, M. in Castells, M. & Cardoso, G., eds., (2005) The Network Society: From Knowledge to Policy. Washington, DC: Johns Hopkins Center for Transatlantic Relations
[2] ibid.
[3] Bauriedl, S. & Strüver A. (2020). Platform Urbanism: Technocapitalist Production of Private and Public Spaces. Urban Planning (5/4). https://www.cogitatiopress.com/urbanplanning/article/view/3414 [Accessed 21.06.2021]
#Obsessed © Johanna Westermann
BB2040
[EN] Berlin Brandenburg 2040 was initiated by the Habitat Unit in cooperation with Projekte International and provides an open stage and platform for multiple contributions of departments and students of the Technical University Berlin and beyond. The project is funded by the Robert Bosch Foundation.
[DE] Berlin Brandenburg 2040 wurde initiiert von der Habitat Unit in Kooperation mit Projekte International und bietet eine offene Plattform für Beiträge von Fachgebieten und Studierenden der Technischen Universität Berlin und darüberhinaus. Das Projekt wird von der Robert Bosch Stiftung gefördert.
