KOMODIFIKASI PENGGUNA LAYANAN MESIN PENCARI DAN MEDIA SOSIAL DI INTERNET
AbstrakSaat ini para pengguna media dan layanan berbasis Internet dibius oleh ilusi kebebasan berekspresi dan kemudahankomunikasi melalui berbagai layanan berbasis "user generated content", namun sesungguhnya mereka menukarhak akses terhadap berbagai layanan tersebut dengan hilangnya privasi terhadap data-data pribadi. Privasi dankebebasan berekspresi di ruang maya kini telah menjadi komoditas yang memiliki nilai ekonomi bagi kapitaliskapitalisjenis baru di ruang maya.Struktur industri komunikasi yang kini merambah pula media baru, yaitu media-media yang menggunakan Internetsebagai saluran distribusinya, mengalami perubahan cara pandang dan strategi dalam melakukan akumulasimodal. Melalui perantaraan teknologi informasi dan komunikasi moderen, para pemodal kini dapat melakukankustomasi produk yang disesuaikan dengan kebutuhan spesifik individu. Untuk itu informasi mengenai jati diripada level individu menjadi aset yang berharga bagi para pemodal. Institusi-institusi bisnis media dan layananonline 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 menjadikomoditas yang ditawarkan kepada para pengguna layanan internet, menggantikan konten sebagai pemikatutama bagi audiens media massa konvensional. Sementara itu para pengguna kehilangan privasi dan kendali atasdata-data pribadi yang dimilikinya, karena pengelola layanan online menawarkan hal itu kepada para pemodallain sebagai komoditas.Tulisan ini juga mencoba menunjukkan bahwa para kapitalis layanan online dengan dibantu media-mediakonvensional, mempromosikan trend untuk menggunakan kebebasan berekpresi, terkoneksi, dan berbagidengan orang lain melalui layanan-layanan online. Konsep hegemoni digunakan untuk menganalisa mengapaide mengenai masyarakat yang saling terkoneksi (networked society) diterima sebagai suatu konsekuensi logisdari kemajuan teknologi dan dianggap sebagai suatu kewajaran, walaupun sesungguhnya merupakan bagian dariideologi kapitalisme. AbstractMedia and Internet users nowadays are so much influenced by the illusion of freedom of expression as well asthe simplicity in communicate each other. It was initiated through the sophisticated services that allow its usersto have "user generated content" applications. However what they are doing in fact is to exchange their accessprivilege with the loss of their privacy rights towards their personal data. Privacy and freedom of expressionissues in cyber world are now becoming commodities that possess economy values for whom so-called new formof capitalists.Communication industries' structure, including those who explore new media business with the Internet as theinfrastructure, 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 productcustomizations, which are adjusted to individual specific needs. For that reason the information about personalidentity became a valuable asset for those investors. Many institutions of media industry and online service thenbrought the information of users' characteristics in individual level as a commodity, as well as the access to reachthose individuals.The political economy analysis in this paper was used to show how the freedom of expression became a commoditythat was offered to the Internet users. It was brought up in order to substitute the value of content, the factorthat 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 beenoffering 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 beenpromoting the trend to use the freedom of expression. The new trend is how people are connected and share theirexpression with others through online services. The concept of hegemony was used to analyze why the idea ofnetworked society was accepted as a logical consequence of the development of technologies and was regardedas a common thing, even though it was in fact a part of capitalism ideology.