HOW CAN DIGITAL WORK BE CREATIVE?

In a capitalist society, paid work is performed to produce goods and services which can be sold in the marketplace or will
be purchased by the state. Like other products, hypermedia products also have to be made to the specifications of others.
For most of their clients, digital artisans use standardised software packages and mainstream graphic designs to get the
job completed on time and within budget. Their creativity is restricted to producing a quality product which will satisfy the
needs of its users. However, the constant changes in hypermedia software and design fashions have also opened up op-
portunities for more innovative and experimental types of work. With clients seeking products which realise the full po-
tential of new technologies, skilled workers can push forward the technical and aesthetic limits of their craft. Instead of
continually repeating what has already been done, digital artisans can demonstrate their creativity by producing wonder-
ful artefacts which have never been seen before.

WHAT SKILLS ARE INVOLVED IN DIGITAL WORK?

In many sectors, the introduction of computer and Net technologies hasn't abolished Fordist methods of working. In finan-
cial institutions, much of the labour remains tedious data-processing. In call-centres, each moment of an individual's
working-day is still closely supervised. Even within new media, many people primarily carry out routine coding and design
for their jobs. Yet, despite these continuities with Fordism, the production of digital artefacts also encourages new meth-
ods of working. Because of the ease of reproduction, most of the costs of manufacture are no longer expended making
multiple copies of the same product. Instead, investment is concentrated upon the design and building of the first copy of
a digital artefact. Because such tasks are difficult to mechanise, this form of production must be carried out by craft
labour. In order to make useful and beautiful products, digital artisans need both technical and aesthetic skills for their
work. Because different people's abilities are often combined to complete a specific job, these workers must have social
skills to collaborate easily with each other. Above all, digital artisans must possess the self-confidence to run their own
working lives.

WHAT DISTINGUISHES DIGITAL ARTISANS FROM CYBER-ENTREPRENEURS?

According to neo-liberal cyber-gurus, the dissemination of computer and Net technologies will create a completely ‘new
paradigm’ where everyone can become a cyber-entrepreneur. Yet, despite some important changes in the methods of work-
ing, the divisions between management and workers persist. Above all, the most important social question within capital-
ism remains: who controls economic institutions? Within many sectors, the ‘new paradigm’ is obviously just a trendy
Californian buzzword. Although the personal relations between management and employees are less formal, the old
Fordist techniques for supervising and controlling all aspects of production from above persist. Yet, the increased impor-
tance of craft labour within the digital economy has forced even long-established corporations to change their methods of
management. Rather than directly supervising skilled workers, large companies increasingly prefer to sub-contract their
tasks either to small companies or directly to artisans. Instead of bureaucrats directing people to perform tasks, market
competition for short-term contracts instead controls workers who couldn't be disciplined by other means. Like their proto-
industrial predecessors, self-employed digital artisans can earn high wages and control the pace of their work. Compared
to those in traditional jobs, they are members of a new ‘labour aristocracy’. However, most of these skilled workers still
have little or no say in the companies which employ them. If they own a few shares, they usually have little influence over
the strategy of the firm. Even those artisans who do control their own companies remain subordinate to market disciplines
imposed by their corporate clients. Needing to ensure products are delivered on time and within budget, they are either
forced either to become managers themselves or sell their companies to someone else so they can still engage in creative
work. Despite the rhetoric of the ‘new paradigm’, the old class divisions of capitalism persist.

WHAT ARE THE COMMON INTERESTS OF DIGITAL WORKERS?
Whether working as an employee of a Fordist corporation or as an artisan carrying out a contract, all digital workers need
good conditions to carry out their jobs. Their place of work should be safe, comfortable and healthy. The technologies

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