ABSTRACT
And so, what is one to make of the various stories from participants, information from a range of internet sources and Ahmed’s queer phenomenology? The task in this final chapter is to bring together these various lines of enquiry and make some sense of them. James Ash in The Interface Envelope (2015b) draws on the example of videogames to make the point that interfaces create envelopes, or localized foldings of space and time. These foldings of space and time, Ash argues, create environments that organize players’ perceptions in such a way that the games succeed at generating economic profit – a sort of ‘cognitive capitalism’. Skype is both similar and different in this regard. The platform, particularly when used for commercial purposes (Skype for Business) undoubtedly is marketed with the aim of generating profit. As noted in Chapter 1 Skype was acquired by Microsoft in 2011 for $8.5 billion. Individuals for personal use, however, tend to spend little or no money on Skype. The software is available to download for free and there is no cost for Skype-to-Skype calls. All users need to purchase a computer or some other device and pay fees to telecommunication companies for internet services in order to use Skype but for personal Skype to Skype, calls with or without video are free.
