Social Media and Affective Networks
Social Media and Affective Networks
This chapter examines human relationships with and around the Internet and personal mobile technologies. In this case, the focus is on how fans of racehorses, like fans of other phenomena, use social media to share information and creative work. Unlike other forms of labor in the book – including the work done in pari-mutuel markets by bettors – the work of information dissemination, creative production, and emotional expression and maintenance highlighted in this chapter are femininely gendered and offer little or no financial payoff. Examples of such affective labor include the creation and circulation of fan videos for racehorses like Zenyatta, on YouTube, and the circulation of photographs of former racehorses requiring rescue from abuse, neglect, or the slaughterhouse. These forms of sharing entail a more traditional sense of networked presence than one finds in national and global pari-mutuel markets.
Keywords: social media, racehorses, networks, fans, affect, labor, presence, rescue, YouTube
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