7(1) 2021: Laborious Play and Playful Work II

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Making the Virtual a Reality: Playful Work and Playbour in the Diffusion of Innovations
Foxman, Maxwell (2021) , S. 91-110
After raising US$2.5 million in a Kickstarter campaign for an inexpen- sive Virtual Reality (VR) display, the technology company Oculus revi- talized the medium through collabourative production and a reliance on the avid participation of fans to make content. This paper investigates the impact of playful labour on the diffusion of innovations (Rogers 2003). Through a platform analysis (van Dijck 2013) of the Oculus Rift and semi-structured interviews with 90 VR adopters, it reveals how a production system based on “playbour” (Kücklich 2005) both shaped perceptions of the Rift as the de facto VR device and provided access to game developers at the expense of other professions. Ultimately, these findings are emblematic of an increasingly common practice: capital- izing on the playful experimentation and expenditure of enthusiasts/ consumers in the adoption of innovations within the “tech” industry.