Technological and Media Platforms: Redefinition of Meanings as Symbolic Power over the Discourse

Jan Kreft

Technological and Media Platforms: Redefinition of Meanings as Symbolic Power over the Discourse

Abstract

Redefining the meanings of such social terms as “likes” and “friends” on Facebook is a popular practice. In terms of consistency, the (auto)-redefinition of the term “platform” is itself particularly important from a media management perspective. The article proposes to consider the redefinition of meanings as a form of wielding non-transparent power over discourse. From this perspective, redefining a meaning is a form of holding symbolic power, i.e. imposing meaning and thus concealing the system of powers existing at its base. The article is theoretical in its nature and complements the framework that explains how, by redefining and imposing new meanings, media and technology platform managing companies can use a new interpretation of the relationship between the organization and the user and other entities. The aim of the article is to stimulate research on the redefinition of meanings as a form of media management by providing a new theoretical perspective. Hermeneutics, that provides a framework for looking at the redefinition of meanings, was taken as the theoretical perspective.