'Wages For Facebook' Campaign Demands Pay For Social Media Activity

[Hammock Parties]

I hate big social media

http://www.ibtimes.com/wages-faceboo...tivity-1542809

Facebook is little more than a silly diversion for most people, but for founder Mark Zuckerberg it has been a cash cow that has made him a billionaire many times over.

Now some activists are raising concerns about the gap between the plebeians who use the site in their millions every day, posting pictures of their meals and sharing their favorite articles without getting paid for their efforts, and the techies who have made a killing off of Facebook's mega-popularity.

The campaign took off this month, when the website WagesForFacebook.com went live with a detailed explanation of the movement and its goals, drawing more than 10,000 visitors so far, according to its founder Laurel Ptak, a professor at New York City's New School.

And it appears to be gaining steam, as the site and related ones have spread via email, Twitter and, yes, Facebook in recent weeks, resulting in a surge of interest in the concept.

The premise of the "Wages For Facebook" movement is that many of the things people do on social media can be defined as labor, and that therefore, Facebook users are being fleeced by an exploitative corporation that is using them as unpaid workers.

The concept has been codified by Ptak in a sort of manifesto on the WagesForFacebook homepage that lays out a case for Facebook paying its users for their social media activity, as it is a wildly profitable company with a billion users and $5.1 billion in revenue in 2012 alone.

"They say it's friendship. We say it's unwaged work. With every like, chat, tag or poke, our subjectivity turns them a profit," the site states. "They call it sharing. We call it stealing. We’ve been bound by their terms of service far too long — it’s time for our terms."

The manifesto goes on to link the concept to a Marxist analysis of capital-labor relations, before carefully laying out the reasons why users should see their Facebook use as labor that should be rewarded monetarily. It then connects the "Wages For Facebook" tenets to the greater issues of unpaid work in today's dire labor market, where many companies illegally employ unpaid "interns" to do work once done by paid employees.

"Capital had to convince us that it is a natural, unavoidable and even fulfilling activity to make us accept unwaged work," the screed continues. "In its turn, the unwaged condition of Facebook has been a powerful weapon in reinforcing the common assumption that Facebook is not work, thus preventing us from struggling against it. We are seen as users or potential friends, not workers in struggle. We must admit that capital has been very successful in hiding our work."

The concept behind the movement has spread beyond the "Wages For Facebook" website to other venues, including a Facebook page of its own, dubbed Wages For Facebook Work. In that forum, users have come together to share their concerns about the Facebook model, and to discuss ways to advance their cause, from raising awareness to boycotting the site outright.

"If we want wages, we'll have to strike," stated Facebook user Eli Friedman in a posting on the page, echoing the sentiments of a number of other users.

The Occupy Wall Street movement has also taken steps to spread the message, reposting the WagesForFacebook.com manifesto on its popular website.

It remains to be seen if the David vs. Goliath struggle will lead to any real reforms in the way Facebook treats its users, but for now the movement has a voice.

[HoneyBadger]

Well ok.

[listopencil]

That's got to be satire...right?

[Hammock Parties]

Originally Posted by listopencil

That's got to be satire...right?

https://www.facebook.com/offtheclockonthejob

[listopencil]

Originally Posted by Douche Baggins

https://www.facebook.com/offtheclockonthejob

I'm thinking of a word. That word is "****tarded."

[ClevelandBronco]

Originally Posted by listopencil

I'm thinking of a word. That word is "****tarded."

I'd like to buy a vowel, please. How about a "k"?

[Rain Man]

Originally Posted by ClevelandBronco

I'd like to buy a vowel, please. How about a "k"?

You shouldn't have to buy a vowel. The workplace should provide vowels to you. Chiefsplanet is making money off of your back, and you have to buy your own vowels? That's abominable.

[listopencil]

Originally Posted by ClevelandBronco

I'd like to buy a vowel, please. How about a "k"?

Yes, we have one "k." Go ahead and spin it again.

[BigRedChief]

Good luck with that.

Next..............commuters stuck in Christi's traffic study want reimbursement.

[Hamwallet]

That's it, I am suing Comedy Central. Without me watching nobody would advertise on there channel thus nobody on there end would get paid. I want my cut ASAP.

[RealSNR]

Originally Posted by BigRedChief

Good luck with that.

Next..............commuters stuck in Christi's traffic study want reimbursement.

Topical humor sucks.

[Rasputin]

I'd like to get paid to do my dishes, mow my lawn, take out the trash but no I don't get paid I'm going on strike!!!

Not going take it any more!

[Psyko Tek]

Originally Posted by KC Tattoo

I'd like to get paid to do my dishes, mow my lawn, take out the trash but no I don't get paid I'm going on strike!!!

Not going take it any more!

been looking for years for the job that pays me to drink beer and **** off
no luck ...

SO FAR

[Rain Man]

Originally Posted by Psyko Tek

been looking for years for the job that pays me to drink beer and **** off
no luck ...

SO FAR

Have you considered a county commissioner position?

[Rain Man]

Am I going to have to pay union dues now?