Performed Subjectivities in Ranking and Recommendation Systems

Creative professions were among the first to be affected by the algorithmic logic of online reputational mechanisms, rating processes, evaluations and measurements, and creative workers were among the first to highlight the critical aspects of the so-called algorithmic self and its impact on labour practices. In some regards, supply and demand platforms dedicated to creative services have paved the way for ‘factory-model’ subjectivities evaluated by algorithms. Certain creative work dynamics have been exacerbated by the need to digitally position oneself through personal branding and self-marketing. This chapter focuses on the socio-technical dimensions which heavily impact on all those professions for which one’s online positioning is important, a position which is affected by reputation and recommendation models on social networks, and algorithms inside ranking systems. More specifically, the chapter analyses the functioning of rankings on Facebook, discussing this point within the debate on how and whether to humanise algorithms, making them less ‘unfair’.