Many of us have probably heard of or may be aware of the term capital and what it may mean to each of us. Bordieu, a social theorist has his definition of capital and states how there are three forms of it. Bordieu explains that capital is just accumulated labor that builds on top of each other and also calls it social energy. The three forms of capital he talks about are economic, cultural, and social capital. Social capital is our networks, resources, relation to the phrase, “it’s not what you know but who you know”. Cultural is our embodied capital, what we have been taught or socially constructed to believe. Bordieu states it’s our disposition which is our state of mind. The third form of capital is economic capital which is our private property in the form of property rights which means things that are directly convertible into money. Bordieu states the ultimate goal is to make social and cultural capital convertible into economic capital.
A good example where these three forms of capital are present would be the social networking site, Facebook. Facebook starts off as a social capital because it’s dealing with people befriending people they know and don’t know to either sell their business or build one. This is a place to find and get acquainted with people that associates with the “who you know” to possibly get established in some area of life. This social network is convertible in cultural capital because many young people growing up around those who use Facebook on a regular may see this as a norm. These young people may see this as a way to operate in life and a way to find out things and/or get important information. It’s cultural capital for regular users because it becomes embodied. It becomes a necessity for users to check their Facebook more than 10 times a day and normal for users to feel like they have missed important information when they have not been on the site for more than a day or two. They have been taught that Facebook is a better way for communicating than meeting and talking in person because Facebook is convenient. Facebook means the world to many and there are so many active users that this type of internet action can easily be turned into economic capital.
Facebook has always been a free site for users however it is very convertible into economic capital. Because of the millions of users on this site, if the makers for this site decide to charge $1 a month or even a year to use the global site, they would become instant millionaires. Although many users would not agree with a fee to use the site, many would still agree to it because it has now become a necessity. It’s their way of trying to stay connected to a world that makes them feel accepted and wanted. It’s a quick and simple way to share events and parties without the traditional mailing and stamping individual invitations. It’s a place where you can be yourself and someone else and what better way to basically exploit this than creating a fee and making money off of it.
A good example where these three forms of capital are present would be the social networking site, Facebook. Facebook starts off as a social capital because it’s dealing with people befriending people they know and don’t know to either sell their business or build one. This is a place to find and get acquainted with people that associates with the “who you know” to possibly get established in some area of life. This social network is convertible in cultural capital because many young people growing up around those who use Facebook on a regular may see this as a norm. These young people may see this as a way to operate in life and a way to find out things and/or get important information. It’s cultural capital for regular users because it becomes embodied. It becomes a necessity for users to check their Facebook more than 10 times a day and normal for users to feel like they have missed important information when they have not been on the site for more than a day or two. They have been taught that Facebook is a better way for communicating than meeting and talking in person because Facebook is convenient. Facebook means the world to many and there are so many active users that this type of internet action can easily be turned into economic capital.
Facebook has always been a free site for users however it is very convertible into economic capital. Because of the millions of users on this site, if the makers for this site decide to charge $1 a month or even a year to use the global site, they would become instant millionaires. Although many users would not agree with a fee to use the site, many would still agree to it because it has now become a necessity. It’s their way of trying to stay connected to a world that makes them feel accepted and wanted. It’s a quick and simple way to share events and parties without the traditional mailing and stamping individual invitations. It’s a place where you can be yourself and someone else and what better way to basically exploit this than creating a fee and making money off of it.