In this episode, Allison Alexy talks with Prof. Gabriella Lukács, whose research focuses on analog and digital media, which she theorizes as a continuum. The conversation centers on her new book Invisibility by Design: Women and Labor in Japan's Digital Economy. Topics of discussion include: digital labor, online entrepreneurship, labor in the academy, net idols, bloggers, influencers, careers on YouTube, "expert" advice online, Japan's gendered labor market, what is recognized as labor, extracting profit from workers who aren't being paid, the gaps and overlaps between online and IRL, and doing research with celebrities.

Dr. Gabriella Lukács is an Associate Professor of Anthropology at the University of Pittsburgh.  Her earlier book, Scripted Affects, Branded Selvesanalyzes the development of a new primetime serial, a so-called “trendy drama,” as the Japanese television industry’s response to developments in digital media technologies and market fragmentation. 

Michigan Talks Japan is produced by Robin Griffin, Justin Schell, and Allison Alexy and is supported by the Center for Japanese Studies at the University of Michigan.