The DOI matches its Crossref record; 5 of the 5 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Seeing the forest for the trees: Visualizing platformization and its governance
Open accessAbstract
The complexities of platforms are increasingly at odds with the narrow legal and economic concepts in which their governance is grounded. This article aims to analyze platformization through the metaphorical lens of a tree to make sense of information ecosystems as hierarchical and interdependent structures. The layered shape of the tree draws attention to the dynamics of power concentration: vertical integration, infrastructuralization, and cross-sectorization. Next, the metaphor helps to revision the current patchwork of European regulatory frameworks, addressing the power asymmetry between citizens and the data-driven systems through which their daily practices are governed. Finally, the platformization tree serves to identify points of intervention that may inform European regulatory bodies and policy-makers to act as agents of change. Taking a holistic approach to platformization, this visual metaphor may inspire a set of principles that reshapes the platform ecosystem in the interest of society and the common good.
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Cites
van Dijck, J., Poell, T., & de Waal, M. (2018) · doi:10.1093/oso/9780190889760.001.0001 · Cited by 2,951
Gillespie, T. (2010) · New Media & Society · doi:10.1177/1461444809342738 · Cited by 2,522 · cited 1×
“In the past, platforms have often been examined as metaphorical constructs with technological, social, economic, and political dimensions (Gillespie, 2010; Van Dijck, 2013).”
BackgroundData colonialism: rethinking big data’s relation to the contemporary subject
Couldry, N., & Mejias, U. A. (2019) · Television & New Media · doi:10.1177/1527476418796632 · Cited by 1,617
Introduction—Platforms and Infrastructures in the Digital Age
Constantinides, P., Henfridsson, O., & Parker, G. G. (2018) · Information Systems Research · doi:10.1287/isre.2018.0794 · Cited by 943 · cited 1×
“Yet other theorists configure constellations where stacks are partitioned into “core” and “peripheral” platforms (Constantinides et al., 2018).”
BackgroundSocial Media and the Public Interest: Media Regulation in the Disinformation Age
Napoli, P. (2019) · doi:10.7312/napo18454 · Cited by 332
Cited by
The US–China rivalry and the emergence of state platform capitalism
Rolf, S., & Schindler, S. (2023) · Environment and Planning A: Economy and Space · doi:10.1177/0308518x221146545 · Cited by 167
“Dual‐Track” platform governance on content: A comparative study between China and United States
Liu, J., & Yang, L. (2022) · Policy & Internet · doi:10.1002/poi3.307 · Cited by 48
Borderline practices on Douyin/TikTok: Content transfer and algorithmic manipulation
Su, C., & Valdovinos Kaye, B. (2023) · Media, Culture & Society · doi:10.1177/01634437231168308 · Cited by 26
Cao, T. L. (2025) · Platforms & Society · doi:10.1177/29768624251349092 · Cited by 5
Build Agent Advocates, Not Platform Agents
Kapoor, S., Kolt, N., & Lazar, S. (2025) · arXiv · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2505.04345 · Cited by 1
Metadata
- Authors
- Van Dijck, J.
- Venue
- New Media & Society
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2020-07-08
- Volume
- 23
- Issue
- 9
- Pages
- 2801-2819
- ISSN
- 1461-4448 (ISSN-L)
- 1461-7315
- OpenAlex
- W3041898256
- Cited by
- 338
- References
- 5
- FWCI
- 45.59
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
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