"Barcodes are about as ordinary as an object can be. They’re everywhere and impact everything from how we shop to how we travel to how the global economy is managed, but few people likely give them more than a second thought. In a way, their "ordinariness" is the ultimate symbol of th...

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Bibliographic Details

Main Author:	Frith, Jordan (Author)
Format:	Electronic eBook
Language:	English
Published:	London Bloomsbury Academic 2023
Series:	Object lessons Bloomsbury collections
Subjects:	Geschichte Kultur Strichcode Literary Studies Material culture Philosophy: aesthetics Semiotics / semiology
Online Access:	BSB01 Volltext
Summary:	"Barcodes are about as ordinary as an object can be. They’re everywhere and impact everything from how we shop to how we travel to how the global economy is managed, but few people likely give them more than a second thought. In a way, their "ordinariness" is the ultimate symbol of their success. After all, barcodes have remained mostly unchanged (except for a few exceptions like QR Codes) for the last 50 years, and yet billions of barcodes are still scanned each day. But behind the mundanity of the barcode lies an important and interesting history. Barcodes are objects that bridged the gap between physical objects and digital databases and helped pave the way for the contemporary Internet of Things. They were highly controversial at points and protested by consumer groups and labor unions and used as a stand-in for capitalism and surveillance in science fiction and art installations. This book tells the story of the barcode’s complicated history and examines how an object so crucial to so many parts of our lives became more ignored and more ordinary as it spread throughout the world."
Physical Description:	1 Online-Ressource (152 Seiten)
ISBN:	9781501399947 9781501399930 9781501399923
DOI:	10.5040/9781501399947