In Jodi Dean’s (2010) “Blog Theory: Feedback and Capture in the Circuits of Drive”, Dean conceives the concept of “communicative capitalism” which melds democracy and capitalism and is directed toward the Internet networks, specifically blogs. Dean addresses the modern-day dilemma, in our virtually addicted society, of the inundation of information, which we search for, zealously devour, and discard all with minutes, if not seconds after we have taken it in. As consumers and voracious consumers of online information, Dean expresses her somewhat denigrating stance on our digital generation as a gang of blind zombies searching for something and nothing at the same time. We spend our time sifting through the wasteland of virtual “whatever” where “speed, simultaneity, and inter-connectivity of electronic communications produce massive distortions and concentrations of…communicative exchanges” (Dean 2010, 4). I relate Dean’s “communicative capitalism” to the visual black hole that is created by fashion blogs, in particular Tumblr fashion blogs, which are virtual collages interconnected within a limitless web of Tumblr pages.
On Tumblr fashion blogs, blogger XYZ is always concerned with “what’s next, predict[ing], forecasting, the biggest thing after the next biggest thing” because XYZ knows that his/her blog will vanish into virtual obscurity unless the blog is continually updated with interesting images that keep the readers coming back for more (Dean 2010, 112). The democratic structure of Tumblr enables bloggers to post, comment, like and reblog other bloggers’ posts giving the illusion of freedom of voice and selection of imagery that captures a blogger’s specific aesthetic taste. But as an avid Tumblr follower and blogger, I have seen that more often than not, the same images keep being recycled on these “unique” photo-collage Tumblr blogs which supposedly express our individual tastes and personalities. The street-style image of the cool girl wearing the latest Miu Miu glittery booties is sourced from The Sartorialist and is disseminated and recycled through thousands of Tumblr pages, reflecting Dean’s idea of “enrich[ing] the few as it placates and diverts the many” (Dean 2010, 4).
Tumblr is yet another social networking site, where we can blur the boundaries of who we are and project an identity of what we aspire to be through the images that we chose to showcase. The image-friendly blogging platform has been chosen as the preferred virtual medium where the fashion-obsessed as well as fashion publication, and designers, can store, share, and disseminate their favorite fashion images. Ilana Gershon (2008) addresses this plurality of communication mediums which allows us to chose and compare how we can best express our identities (whether it be through Tumblr, Facebook, Twitter, etc). A blogger’s virtual “bricolage” of imagery is reflected on his/her Tumblr page, but often times their “personal collage” is just a bunch of reblogged images taken from other Tumblr pages. Take a look at any Tumblr page and you can click on an image which will take you to another blog, where you’ll find other images, which lead you deeper into the Tumblr fashion abyss. Bloggers uses this “cut ‘n’ paste” technique to inject new meanings into images taken from different contexts (Luvaas 2008).
Tumblr acts as an embodiment of Dean’s notion of virtual participants engaging in this communicative capitalism via blogs. Microblogging platforms like Tumblr facilitate our desire to engage in blind consumption of imagery in a format that is designed to keep our eyes glued to the pages as we navigate from one Tumblr page to the next until we realize that we have been sitting for hours looking at the same images from style.com, The Sartorialist, and the Facehunter. We get our fill for the day and we wait until tomorrow to get our daily “fix” of eye candy.
Some discussion questions to consider:
In light of our society’s hunger and continual search for the next best thing, how do we define what is actually “valuable” to us now? If we sift through “pretty images” on Tumblr everyday what do we consider to be sacred? What is something that captures our attention for more than a few seconds?
Do you think we will come to a point where we will get sick of “drowning in plurality” and we will revert to a new value system which emphasizes selectivity and thoughtful digestion of ideas? Or will we continue in this never-ending search of information that we do not even take the time to understand?
Take a look at one of the Tumblr pages that I like and see if you don’t get sucked into the virtual fashion void.
http://missmossblog.tumblr.com/
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