Web 2.0 and the digital reputation economy

After reading Ritzer and Jurgenson two weeks ago, I asked if the fun derived from unpaid labor or the possibilities of the new form of payments suggested a new paradigm of capitalism or business as usual. In a way, Alison Hearn's "Structuring feeling: Web 2.0, online ranking and rating, and the digital ‘reputation’economy" article seemed to suggest the latter as the answer. Hearn argues that "online reputation measurement and management systems are new sites of cultural production....where the expression of feeling is ostensibly constituted as ‘reputation’ and then mined for value" (p. 422).

One point that Hearn drives home in the article is that despite building online reputations and branding ourselves, it is the corporate sites and third parties that benefit more from it, leaving us with little control (p.435).. It is clear from all of this that online self branding and reputation is a double edged sword. Coming from a background in communication, I would say that blogging, tweeting and even making YouTube videos are excellent ways for job seekers to show they have the journalistic/media skills employers are looking for. Yet at the same time we are constrained by limits set by the web 2.0 sites (Twitter's 140 word limit), our lack of control and ownership over the data we put on the web, and the fact that our self branding and identity performance may sometimes be designed to impress our future bosses even though we may enjoy participating online. As a result of these constraints, things could easily be taken out of context, or old information could easily resurface online to ruin our personal brand.
                                           
                                                      References
Hearn, Allison (2010). Structuring feeling: Web 2.0, online ranking, rating & the digital ‘reputation’ economy. Ephemera 10(3/4): 421-38.