PLATFORMS AND THE PRECARITY OF CREATOR (IN)VISIBILITY

This panel examines the tension between visibility and invisibility in platform-creator relationship with a focus on highly precarious areas of cultural production, including online sex workers, body activists, LGBTQ+ content creators. Together, panelists consider: what kinds creators are made visible platforms? Conversely, who remains invisible? How do platforms their algorithms afford (in)visibility to marginalized stigmatized creators? these groups resist top-down regimes? Finally, how such regimes challenge or reaffirm other forms social marginalization? Primarily drawing interviews variety media webcam platforms, examine complex dynamic invisibility. The first paper studies role algorithmic labor capital wider hierarchies that structure contemporary creator economy. In turn, second further develops this inquiry, studying people size grapple datafied presence develop strategies for safely navigating algorithmically mediated hyper(in)visibility. third focuses performers showing engage beyond provided by platform algorithms, while simultaneously seeking invisibility, where possible. fourth paper—drawing an interface analysis 50 high-traffic platforms—analyzes information affordances available performers. Taken together, show shape afforded laborers, also they seek erasure vulnerabilities being “seen.”