Digital networked media are largely financed by advertising. This applied to older generations of online services just as it is normal for digital platforms today. Even if the origins of the Internet were not commercial, its rise and success are closely linked to advertising in its various facets. Today’s dominant corporations such as Google/Alphabet and Facebook base their market power and economic strength primarily on advertising financing.
Against this background, the conference deals with the question of how the structures and dynamics of digital communication are linked to the optimization of advertising communication and marketing. Social media platforms orientate their offers and algorithms towards the highest possible advertising revenue and at the same time organise large parts of our social communication. The currently prominent debates on algorithmic filtering, misformation (“fake news”) and micro-targeting thus touch upon the – by no means new – question of the extent to which advertising financing shapes the conditions of social communication.
Joint annual conference of the German Communication Association (DGPuK) Sections “Digital Communication” and “Advertising Communication” held from 11 to 12 November 2021 at the University of Leipzig.