“I Would Like to Have a Little Salary”: Economic Outcomes of Peer Market Participation

• In Event: Social Media, Markets, and Work

Abstract

What economic benefits do users of online peer market platforms obtain from participation? This paper provides an empirical response to this question through multimodal analysis of a diverse group of independent artists, creative entrepreneurs who sell their handmade goods using e-commerce platforms. Drawing on theoretical notions of aspirational and relational labor, it shows that entrepreneurs exert effort making their products and spend time promoting them as they attempt to engage and sustain an audience of customers. Triangulated questionnaire, observational, and interview data reveal, however, that most artists not only experience little financial success but also express ambivalence and frustration. At the same time, they rationalize their participation by asserting that they derive satisfaction from creating their art and selling what little they do.

Author

• Erin Flynn Klawitter, Northwestern U