August 2007 - Air-L - lists.aoir.org

Number of SNSs users are active in.
by Emma Duke-Williams 24 Aug '07

24 Aug '07

I've just been reading Wired's article about SNS for Students and Marc Canter was quoted as saying that the average user was active in 5 Social Networks. I wasn't entired sure if they meant "5 communities" or "5 websites", but, given that they then went on to list 5 sites, I guess it was the latter. (http://www.wired.com/software/webservices/news/2007/08/student_networks ) I've found (I think!) Canter's blog ( http://marc.blogs.it/) but can't seem to find anything about the numbers of active networks. I was rather surprised to read the 5, clearly the definition of "active" could vary, I'm sure my MySpace account that I signed up for ages ago doesn't count, but I wouldn't call myself active on Facebook either (login perhaps once a fortnight, don't actively add friends, delete requests from those I don't recognise etc). I'm also assuming that he's not counting things like forums, which are, in effect, a community, but again, I could be wrong. Does anyone else have any evidence (published or anecdotal) to support or otherwise Canter's claim? Emma -- Blog: http://userweb.port.ac.uk/~duke-wie/blog/

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[Fwd: Re: The slow decay of mySpace?]
by Rhiannon Bury 23 Aug '07

23 Aug '07

I respectfully beg to differ on this distinction made between online an offline community formation. Just because someone is a physical neighbour in no way guarantees that one is a member of that neighbourhood community. I myself have lived in neighbourhoods where I was a very active community member in a political context. I have lived in others where I didn't even know the names of my neighbours. Similarly in cyberspace, creating a mailing list, bulletin board or Facebok grouping is not synonymous with creating a community. To paraphrase David Buckingham writing about media audiences, being a community member is not something you are but something you do. This suggests a discursive understanding of community. I see both online and offline communities as being defined and produced by the practices of those who participate in them. Of course I recognize that the lack of physical presence has effects, both positive and negative. The issue of "lurking" for example, and even the negative connotation of that term, suggests that one must actively participate to be viewed as a legitimate community member (I think this was discussed on this list some time back). Very interesting discussion, folks! I don't want to give the impression of jumping in and then "disappearing" but I'm off on vacation tomorrow and don't be accessing this account for 10 days or so. Best Rhiannon Alecea Standlee wrote: >Another issue that we might consider, is how we define >membership. When we talk about online communitites >maybe we need to address how someone is or is not >defined as a community member. After all in an offline >community, often geographic occupation is the primary >indicator if someone is a neighbor or community >member. Online the definitions of community are more >complex. The degree of interaction and active >participation in community life online functions very >differently. Before we can really examine the FB vs MS >debate, we have to set some perameters and define some >core idea. > >Alecea > > >

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Re: [Air-L] Reminder: Firm Oct 1 deadline
by ebenyehu＠sfu.ca 23 Aug '07

23 Aug '07

Is the issue hermeticaly closed even if my subject is right on target? (My abstract was not sent and was hoping to get in ) On Tue, 21 Aug 2007 09:38:55 -0500 (CDT) air-l(a)listserv.aoir.org wrote: > This was the wrong date and wrong email list -- it's September first > and not be > confused with submissions of papers to the conference. Can you send a > follow > up to ignore this and I'll send an email specifically to the ICS > authors. /C > > ---- Original message ---- > >Date: Mon, 20 Aug 2007 18:57:02 -0400 > >From: Barry Wellman <wellman(a)chass.utoronto.ca> > >Subject: Reminder: Firm Oct 1 deadline > >To: aoir list <air-l(a)aoir.org> > >Cc: Caroline Haythornthwaite <haythorn(a)uiuc.edu> > > > >Just a reminder that those of you planning to send in AOIR papers for > >the special issue of Information, Communication and Society MUST submit > >them by midnight, Central (US) Daylight Time, October 1, 2007. > > > >Send a .doc copy online to each of (. > > > >No late submissions; no excuses. > > > > Barry Wellman > > _______________________________________________________________________ > > > > S.D. Clark Professor of Sociology, FRSC NetLab Director > > Centre for Urban & Community Studies University of Toronto > > 455 Spadina Avenue Room 418 Toronto Canada M5S 2G8 > > http://www.chass.utoronto.ca/~wellman fax:+1-416-978-7162 > > Updating history: http://chass.utoronto.ca/oldnew/cybertimes.php > > Elvis wouldn't be singing "Return to Sender" these days > > _______________________________________________________________________ > > > > > > ---------------------------------------- > Caroline Haythornthwaite > Associate Professor > Graduate School of Library and Information Science, University of > Illinois at Urbana-Champaign > 501 East Daniel St., Champaign IL 61820 > > > _______________________________________________ > The Air-L(a)listserv.aoir.org mailing list > is provided by the Association of Internet Researchers http://aoir.org > Subscribe, change options or unsubscribe at: > http://listserv.aoir.org/listinfo.cgi/air-l-aoir.org > > Join the Association of Internet Researchers: > http://www.aoir.org/ >

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Re: [Air-L] public/private [part 1 of 2]
by Lois Ann Scheidt 23 Aug '07

23 Aug '07

Ed, It's interesting to me that you say you have no agenda but you chose to reply to a private message in public...and you quoted my email without asking me in advance. Very interesting You have now wound back to my first email, where I addressed the confusion about the unit of analysis. If the unit of analysis is the webpage only, then of course application to an IRB is required in the US. But it will, most likely be exempt level research. You are not analyzing people, you are analyzing the artifacts they produce...the text. And publicly available text, etc. is similar to a letter to the editor in any major newspaper...the producer placed the work in a publicly accessible location and unlocked it for the standard uses allowed under the law. Do the producers always know that's what they did...of course not...and in those cases we educate. As Marj has said, ethnographic work is different, assuming that you are "participating" as well as "observing" and everything is in a publicly accessible local. I sincerely hope that the newbie researchers reading this thread made note of an earlier post that pointed out the sometimes dichotomous definitions of "public" and "private". Sometimes the term "publicly accessible" is clearer...in that a mall may be private property but the owners of that private property are running a publicly assessable establishment and have very few reasons they can legally ask someone to leave. Another example would be that you can't yell "fire" in a crowded movie theater but you can study the way people sit physically while they are there, and that too would be exempt level research...as long as you are only observing. Ed, your most recent email appears to be saying that you are concerned that research is being conducted without IRB review. I think you will find that others share that concern. However no where in your previous posts do I find that being stated as your primary concern...nor do I find the concern about IRB oversight being clearly articulated. It's a very different discussion than saying that the creator's of intellectual property have final say on that properties use in any situation...assuming they didn't post their blogs with an explicit statement that research is allowed. And finally, neither here or in my private email to you did I express a need for guidance. Your "mind-reading" decision that a title makes you the "expert" and my lack of that title makes me the "learner" is interesting, and while I can't address your qualifications I can address my own...and I am not in need of guidance related to the material I have discussed here or in my private email. While it is wonderful that AoIR and other listservs reach out to assist students who ask for help, it is also best for those who answer to do more than express their opinions...opinions alone are very unhelpful to grad students as many of them are looking for "the right" answer and may confuse an opinion with the actual process. I have to note, that in a previous email I commented on the problems with "mind-reading" subjects rather than asking them about their expectation of privacy. Mind-reading is never good, and it is always both a controlling behavior and one that places the mind-reader above the mind-read person...the mind-reader knows best. I for one do not believe that my studies, and my good fortune in both being able to take the time for PhD studies or for having the access to funding to gain my degree, gives me some superior insight into another persons thinking, asking is always best. Now if a blogger posted "NO RESEARCH HERE." I would have to think twice before I would know if I would use that site in my research. No doubt I would be consulting with some of my colleagues on this list who are experts in ethics, law, and human subjects work. I would have remained in this "public/private" discussion, prior to you calling me out, had I felt that it was actually an academic discussion...rather then one person using a baseball bat to force their "opinion" on others. As I have said previously in this thread, it's like watching someone who thinks they are arguing against the Tuskegee Syphilis Studies with people who are supporting that research...when no one here is supporting harm to subjects or the creators of the artifacts we study. I want to caution anyone new to the "human subjects" debate, that when you read IRB rules or any Human Subjects legal documentation please remember these documents were created, in very legalistic language, to primarily address historic problems with medical and psychological research. I am in no way saying they do not apply to social science research, rather that they don't fit us neatly...hence so many of these discussions must be had as we work through how old rules apply to new situations. I would also caution new researchers to talk to experts, and to read published ethical and IRB essays and research so they know the prevailing point of view...don't just take a faculty members word for it, you need to take the time to learn it yourself, because you will be held responsible for your own research ethics. Lois Ann Scheidt Doctoral Student - School of Library and Information Science, Indiana University, Bloomington IN USA Adjunct Instructor - School of Informatics, IUPUI, Indianapolis IN USA and IUPUC, Columbus IN USA Webpage: http://www.loisscheidt.com Blog: http://www.professional-lurker.com

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international internet usage?
by Nancy Baym 23 Aug '07

23 Aug '07

Hi -- I am looking for any sources comparable to the Pew site (for instance this chart: http://pewinternet.org/trends/Internet_Activities_6.15.07.htm) that track simple CURRENT statistics about how many people use email, im, the web, and other modes of online interaction. I'd like to be able to teach and report on non-US populations. I am aware of these two sites: http://www.nielsen-netratings.com/resources.jsp?section=pr_netv&nav=1 which provides some information about web use in 10 different countries and http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats.htm which reports on percentages of world populations using the internet at all but neither break it down to compare which things they do on line or how many do each online activity. Thanks in advance for any links, if any exist. Nancy

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AoIR elections underway
by Matthew Allen 23 Aug '07

23 Aug '07

Dear AoIR members (and apologies to non-members) The ballot paper for the election of the next AoIR Executive has been sent out to the last known good email address we have for members. Please note the tight timeline on voting. Please also read carefully the instructions on completing your ballot. You can ask questions of all those standing for election in the election forums at http://aoir.org - please make sure you log in first, then click 'forums' in the top right hand of the screen. (You can recover login details at the site if you have forgotten them) If you believe you are an AoIR member and do NOT receive a ballot paper, please email me directly and I will check the membership lists. Good luck to all the candidates! Matt Dr Matthew Allen Associate Professor Internet Studies Curtin University of Technology, CRICOS 00301J Australia m.allen(a)curtin.edu.au http://smi.curtin.edu.au/netstudies/allen.htm <https://email.curtin.edu.au/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://smi.curtin.edu…> +61 8 92663511 (v) +61 8 9266 3166 (f) President, Association of Internet Researchers http://www.aoir.org <https://email.curtin.edu.au/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://www.aoir.org/>

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Job Announcement
by Greg Wise 22 Aug '07

22 Aug '07

JOB ANNOUNCEMENT TWO ASSISTANT PROFESSOR POSITIONS DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNICATION STUDIES ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY The ASU Department of Communication Studies, located at the west campus in Phoenix, plays an integral role in Arizona State University's multi-campus research and teaching mission. One of several ASU departments offering communication degrees, Communication Studies is strongly committed to interdisciplinary scholarship, methodological diversity, a collegial environment, the blending of liberal arts and human services traditions, and a rigorous undergraduate and graduate education. The department benefits from its location on an intimate campus (8,500 students) with excellent library and faculty support services as well as access to the vast resources of the larger ASU system of campuses. The department consists of 10 full-time faculty and is adding these two assistant professor positions to better serve our 300 undergraduate majors and 40 M.A. students. We seek exemplary teacher-scholars to support the department's strengths in two areas. Candidates with qualifications that match either of the descriptions below or some combination of the two are encouraged to apply. Please visit our web site at: http://chs.asu.edu/depts_schools/comm_studies/ . Position 1. Applied Interpersonal Communication. The department seeks a scholar with research and teaching expertise in applied communication with emphasis in one or more of the following applied contexts: health, aging, family relationships, youth development, work relationships, mediated relationships, interpersonal advocacy. Position 2. New Media. The department seeks scholars with teaching and research expertise in the study of new media with emphasis in one or more of the following areas: emerging technologies; race, ethnicity, and media; political economy and media; global media; media theory. REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS: Ph.D. (by 8/15/2008); relevant area of research specialization; an active program of research, with potential to establish excellence in scholarship; a strong record of publication; evidence of excellence in teaching. DESIRED QUALIFICATIONS: Capacity to advance the department's commitment to serving diverse students and communities; potential for academic entrepreneurship and/or acquisition of external funds; capacity to teach courses related to advocacy; experience in teaching undergraduate courses in scientific or humanistic research methods. Application Deadline: October 15th, 2007; if not filled, the 1st and 15th of each month thereafter until the search is closed. Application Procedure: Send (1) a letter of application explaining fit with the appropriate position description(s), (2) a curriculum vita, (3) three letters of reference, (4) evidence of teaching effectiveness, and (4) samples of publications to Ms. Patricia Bellew, Search Committee Coordinator, Department of Communication Studies, Arizona State University, PO Box 37100, Phoenix, AZ 85069-7100. Electronic applications and supportive documents are invited. Please send electronic application along with supportive documents to: Patricia.bellew(a)asu.edu ASU is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer in policy and practice, and the Department actively seeks and supports a diverse workforce. A background check is required prior to employment. ASU offers applicants an opportunity to voluntarily self-disclose information for the University's diversity plan; applicants may complete an EEO survey for the position(s) to which they apply at: http://www.eoaa.asu.edu/aa_eeo_survey.asp

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Re: [Air-L] [AOIR 8.0] Vancouver Conference Update #5 (August 16, 2007)
by ebenyehu＠sfu.ca 22 Aug '07

22 Aug '07

Hello Richard Do you happen to know if as a grad at SFU do I need to register to join in for part of the talks? On Thu, 16 Aug 2007 15:17:48 -0700 air-l(a)listserv.aoir.org wrote: > Hello, all you AIRtimers! > > Time for another AIR Conference update. Thought I'd forgotten about it, eh? > Not a chance. We love stuffing your email box with bits from the far > north - > check your ports for frost - and will continue right up to the opening of > the conference. > > Today's update includes news on the program, a contest that could win you > fame and glory, visa information, PIE, and the usual entreaties to register > early. > > PROGRAM > > The full program, as you already are aware, I am sure, is now available > online. If you haven't seen it already, check out the link as posted by Mia > (http://oak.cats.ohiou.edu/~consalvo/aoir_conference_schedule.xls) or go > here: http://wiki.aoir.org/index.php?title=IR8_Program > > CONTEST > > As Matthew told me in my briefing when taking on this job, the Australians > really "set the bar" in terms of the program. I aim to clear that bar and > set a new record. But, I know that my own design skills aren't going to do > it. So, I have concocted this idea to have a "program design" contest. If > you design the new program I will pay for your registration to AoIR (or the > cash equivalent). Is that something you'd like to do? If so, check out the > details on the contest here: > http://wiki.aoir.org/index.php?title=IR8_Contest > > VISA > > You might need a visa to come to Canada. Please check our web site for > information about countries whose citizens require visas, and details > on how > to get a letter of invitation, if necessary: > http://wiki.aoir.org/index.php?title=IR8_VISA_info > > PIE > > Yes, pie. We're going to have pie at this conference. Thank Holly and Mia > for that. And if you want more info on the pie, we'll you should be on the > AoIR facebook group, then, shouldn't you? > http://sfu.facebook.com/group.php?gid=5212889713 > > REGISTER > > If you haven't registered for the conference yet, what are you waiting for? > Get on it! Here is the link: http://www.aoir.org/?q=conf > > HOTELS > > Are you booked into a hotel? If not, you might be sleeping rough. > There is a > lot of great information on hotels here: > http://wiki.aoir.org/index.php?title=IR8_Location_and_Hotels > > That's all for now, folks. > > ...r > > -- > Richard Smith, Professor, School of Communication > Simon Fraser University, 515 West Hastings Street, Vancouver, CANADA > V6B 5K3 > Phone: 778 782 5116 Web: http://www.sfu.ca/~smith/ > New book!: http://arago.cprost.sfu.ca/smith/mawc > _______________________________________________ > The Air-L(a)listserv.aoir.org mailing list > is provided by the Association of Internet Researchers http://aoir.org > Subscribe, change options or unsubscribe at: > http://listserv.aoir.org/listinfo.cgi/air-l-aoir.org > > Join the Association of Internet Researchers: > http://www.aoir.org/ >

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Re: [Air-L] The slow decay of mySpace?
by m.thelwall＠blueyonder.co.uk 22 Aug '07

22 Aug '07

Hi Hugie, Just to back up some of the replies to this - looking at a sample of MySpace profiles, about a third of "members" probably only log on when they join and then give up for whatever reason. Another third probably log on weekly or so and the rest may give up after a while or log on infrequently - so it is difficult to draw conclusions about migration just from the number of active users, even aside from the problem of multiple accounts- which maybe one day soon the majority of users will have. http://www.scit.wlv.ac.uk/~cm1993/papers/MySpace_d.doc It will be interesting to see if in the future sites that are now very big amongst some sectors of the population (e.g., MySpace, Facebook) are dropped for the new latest thing, or manage to sustain their user base by reinventing themselves or just through sheer weight of numbers. Mike > Date: Wed, 22 Aug 2007 09:28:45 +1000 > From: "Hugemusic" <hmusic(a)ozemail.com.au> > Subject: [Air-L] The slow decay of mySpace? > Just read an (http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070820/media_nm/myspace_dc) > article about the different fortunes of MySpace and Facebook. Now, the > article is framed as a discussion of how the two sites compare from the > point of view of growth and total numbers, but there was another figure > the > writer ignored that is very revealing indeed. > > The article lists the unique visitation of MySpace in July 2007 as 61.3 > million, which sounds pretty impressive, especially when you consider that > it's up 33.3% on last year. Great! But when I logged on this morning, my > "Network" was 197,539,132 - more than three times the number of unique > visitors. Even allowing for rounding of that network down to, say 180 > million, that still means that 2/3 of account holders don't visit MySpace > each month! > > Is this because of the migration we discussed earlier? Are some of these > 2/3 > of account holders delinquent? Do the numbers stack up to the hype? I > believe the profit figures on the venture were spectacular the other week > ... > > Personally, I have three MySpace accounts for various band activities, but > if the damn site gets any heavier and/or slower, I'm gonna give up as a > bad > job ... > > What do people think?? > > Cheers, > Hughie

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Re: [Air-L] international internet usage? (Nancy Baym)
by Tomas Lin 22 Aug '07

22 Aug '07

In Canada, there is the Canadian Internet Use Survey, which runs every 2 years - the last available iteration was in 2005 Nice summary of the data here: http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/060815/d060815b.htm Information about the Microfiles here: http://www.statcan.ca/bsolc/english/bsolc?catno=56M0003X Survey year: 2005 Reference year: 2005 Universe: Residents of Canada 18 years of age or older excluding: residents of the Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut, Inmates of Institutions, Persons living on Indian Reserves, and Full time members of the Canadian Forces. Number of records: 30,466 Total weights number of units: ~25 million ( It is for a fee, $2350, but is available for free to most educational institutions in Canada through the Data Liberation Initiative. )

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