A cursory reading of the history of streaming television will paint its inception and effect as techno-deterministic. However, this is not the whole picture. I will argue that not only technological but also cultural conditions of the post-network era (2004 – present) gave rise to streaming technology, empowering some previously underserved television viewers by making their interests more difficult to ignore. This complicates an understanding of social change through a purely techno-deterministic framework by presenting industry and market (expressions of culture) as equally powerful as technology (Lessig, 2006) in determining the state of society. I will begin by briefly tracing how the technological evolution of TV affects content. I Continue reading “Internet Killed The TV Star: The Mutual Shaping of Tech & Culture” →