Platform Studies and Software
Approaches that analyze the computational platforms and software underlying digital media, from hardware constraints to the politics of platforms.
Definition
Platform studies analyzes how the technical specifics of computing platforms shape what can be created on them; software studies examines code and software as cultural objects with social and political consequences.
Scope
This topic covers platform studies and software studies, which examine how computational platforms and code shape digital media and culture. It addresses the analysis of hardware and platform constraints on creative expression, the discursive and political work of the term 'platform', and software as a cultural object that increasingly mediates and 'takes command' of cultural production.
Core questions
- How do platform and hardware constraints shape digital creative work?
- What political work does the concept of 'platform' perform?
- How does software function as a cultural object?
- How do code and software mediate contemporary culture?
Key concepts
- Platform
- Software
- Code
- Hardware constraint
- Intermediary
- Computation
Key theories
- Platform studies
- Montfort and Bogost's approach analyzing how the technical design of a computing platform constrains and enables the creative works built on it.
- The politics of platforms
- Gillespie's analysis of how the term 'platform' is used strategically by companies to position themselves as neutral intermediaries.
- Software studies
- Manovich's and Fuller's argument that software has become a primary medium of culture and must be analyzed as a cultural and material object.
History
Software studies emerged in the 2000s, with Fuller's lexicon and Manovich's work treating software as a cultural object. Montfort and Bogost launched the platform studies series with their study of the Atari, and Gillespie's critique of 'platform' rhetoric helped establish the critical study of digital platforms now central to media studies.
Debates
- Technical determinism in platform analysis
- Whether close analysis of platform and software constraints risks technical determinism or productively grounds cultural analysis in material specifics.
Key figures
- Nick Montfort
- Ian Bogost
- Tarleton Gillespie
- Lev Manovich
- Matthew Fuller
Related topics
Seminal works
- montfortbogost2009
- gillespie2010
- manovich2013
- fullerm2008
Frequently asked questions
- What is platform studies?
- It is an approach that examines how the technical design of a computing platform, including its hardware, shapes the creative and cultural works produced on it.
- Why is the word 'platform' politically significant?
- Gillespie argues companies use 'platform' to present themselves as neutral, open intermediaries, obscuring the editorial and economic choices they actually make.