Event date:
Wednesday 8 September
Time:
16:00
An IASH Work-in-Progress seminar, delivered by Dr Kevin Driscoll (Digital Scholarship Visiting Research Fellowship 2021; University of Virginia):
Almost Free: The Moral Economy of Shareware
Abstract:
Hard to create and easy to copy, software has always been tricky to sell. With the arrival of “home” computers, software became a consumer product in the 1970s, sold on magnetic tapes and floppy disks through mail-order catalogs and retail stores. Enthusiast magazines carried as many advertisements for new programs as reader letters complaining about unfixed bugs and unfilled orders. Out of this protean moment, hobbyist programmers created “shareware,” a novel method of selling software built around informal file-trading networks. Instead fighting with “pirates,” shareware authors encouraged copying and asked satisfied users to send payment by mail. Against rational self-interest, thousands did just that. Drawing on interviews with former programmers and an archive of amateur software, this work-in-progress explores the economic imaginary of shareware. How did authors cultivate a sense of mutual identification and shared obligation with users? What social and technical conditions made this moral economy possible? Can shareware serve as a new model for the future of digital media?
The link to join the seminar is https://ed-ac-uk.zoom.us/j/83635574755 Passcode: 0SMCr9Da
As standard, attendees' mics will be muted and their cameras disabled during the seminar, for security. If you wish to ask a question during the Q&A, we will switch your microphone back on.