- Air-L - lists.aoir.org

LiveJournal, online communities, and rebellions
by Christine Moellenberndt 08 Oct '10

08 Oct '10

Howdy list folks, Lurking MA student here, but a few things have crossed my radar that i feel the need to poke at a bit: 1) re: Alexander and the search for articles: This research piqued my interest, since LJ is my fieldsite for my MA thesis. Alexander, i'm not sure you're on the right track here, but granted i'm not fully following your hypothesis, and i don't read Russian :) But you're basing off two "huge scandals" in Russian sociology weren't discussed in the sociolog community. i'm not sure that's enough to base on. Communities wax and wane in popularity and use, (i see that this community is about seven years old) and it could be that as these scandals happen, people don't immediately think to turn to LJ for discussion anymore. i think people join the communities in the hopes of having discussions or at least learning something new, but so many communities start to lose popularity and traffic that nothing happens and we just never un-join them. i have several communities i'm a member of and never post to, mainly because there's just no traffic so i doubt i'd get any responses, and have been too lazy to unjoin. There's also the "lurk factor" in these communities which is similar to us lurkers on mailing lists. Now Facebook groups OTOH... THOSE i totally agree with where you're going :) Just my 2cents as a longtime LJ user and shorttime LJ budding-scholar :) i'd be interested in your research however as the Russian side of LJ is becoming very fascinating for me (especially in wake of the FaceBook/Twitter integration scandal/rebellion/unpleasantness of just a few weeks ago) 2) re: Grassroots online rebellions. Oh my. There have been so MANY, though i'm not sure they've all be documented :) They aren't just happening in "virtual worlds" though; in my archival LJ research i'm deep in the thick of currently, i have been documenting several rebellions of users on LJ when LJ's parent company made changes the users weren't too satisfied with. i'd be happy to go into detail with the OP offlist if warranted, though as i said none of this is published but observed. Anyways, just my 2 cents in whatever currency you choose... now i go back under my lurkrock :) -Christine MA student (soon-to-be candidate as soon as the paperwork clears) San Jose State University

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Social Science PhD Internships at Microsoft Research New England (Spring & Summer 2011)
by danah boyd 07 Oct '10

07 Oct '10

Microsoft Research New England (MSRNE) is looking for PhD interns to join the social media collective for Spring and Summer 2011. For these positions, we are looking primarily for social science PhD students (including communications, sociology, anthropology, media studies, information studies, etc.). The social media collective is a collection of scholars at MSRNE who focus on socio-technical questions, primarily from a social science perspective. We are not an applied program; rather, we work on critical research questions that we believe are important to the future of social science scholarship. MSRNE internships are 12-week paid internships in Cambridge, Massachusetts. PhD interns at MSRNE are expected to devise and execute a research project during their internships. The expected outcome of an internship at MSRNE is a publishable scholarly paper for an academic journal or conference of the intern's choosing. The goal of the internship is to help the intern advance their own career; interns are strongly encouraged to work towards a publication outcome that will help them on the job market. Interns are also expected to collaborate with full-time researchers and visitors, give short presentations, and contribute to the life of the community. Topics that are currently of interest to the social media collective include: privacy & publicity, online safety (from sexting to bullying to gang activities), transparency & surveillance, conspicuous consumption & brand culture, news & information flow, and locative media. That said, we are open to other interesting topics, particularly those that may have significant societal impact. While most of the researchers in the collective are ethnographers, we welcome social scientists of all methodological persuasions. Applicants should have advanced to candidacy in their PhD program or be close to advancing to candidacy. (Unfortunately, there are no opportunities for Master's students at this time.) While this internship opportunity is not strictly limited to social scientists, preference will be given to social scientists and humanists making socio-technical inquiries. (Note: While other branches of Microsoft Research focus primarily on traditional computer science research, this collective does no development-driven research and is not looking for people who are focused on building systems at this time.) Preference will be given to intern candidates who work to make public and/or policy interventions with their research. Interns will benefit most from this opportunity if there are natural opportunities for collaboration with other researchers or visitors currently at MSRNE. PEOPLE AT MSRNE SOCIAL MEDIA COLLECTIVE The collective is organized by danah boyd (http://www.danah.org) and includes postdocs Alice Marwick (http://www.tiara.org/) and Mike Ananny (http://www.stanford.edu/~mja/) Full-time spring faculty visitors will include Nicole Ellison of MSU (https://www.msu.edu/~nellison/) and Mary Gray of Indiana University (http://www.indiana.edu/~qcentral/) Summer full-time faculty visitors are TBD. Previous interns in the collective have included Amelia Abreu (UWashington information), Scott Golder (Cornell sociology), Alice Marwick (NYU media studies), Omar Wasow (Harvard African-American studies), Sarita Yardi (GeorgiaTech HCI). Previous and current faculty MSR visitors to the collective include: Beth Coleman, Bernie Hogan, Christian Sandvig, Eszter Hargittai, Helen Nissenbaum, James Grimmelmann, Judith Donath, Jeff Hancock, Kate Crawford, Karrie Karahalios, Lisa Nakamura, Nalini Kotamraju, Nancy Baym, and Tarleton Gillespie. If you are curious to know more about MSRNE, I suspect that many of these people would be happy to tell you about their experiences here. Previous interns are especially knowledgeable about how this process works. If you are going to AOIR in Gothenburg, danah, Alice, and Mike will all be attending and happy to answer questions about the internship. APPLICATION PROCESS: To apply for a PhD internship with the social media collective: 1. Fill out the online application form: https://research.microsoft.com/apps/tools/jobs/intern.aspx Make sure to indicate that you prefer Microsoft Research New England. 2. Send an email to dmb(a)microsoft.com with the subject "PhD Intern Application" that includes the following four things: a. A brief description of your dissertation project. b. An academic article you have written (published or unpublished) that shows your writing skills. c. A pointer to your website or other online presence (if available). d. A short description of 1-3 projects that you might imagine doing as an intern at MSRNE. We will begin considering internship applications on November 15 and consider applications until all social media internship positions are filled.

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Re: [Air-L] Need help: virtual worlds and games grass-root rebellions
by Alejandro Tortolini 07 Oct '10

07 Oct '10

Thank you very, very much, people!! Now I have a lot of information This list rocks!!! Alejandro. 2010/10/7 Peter Timusk <ptimusk(a)sympatico.ca> > There were some rebellions in Second Life too. Wagner James Au tells some > of > these stories in "The Making of Second Life" Collins 2008. > > Peter Timusk > at571(a)ncf.ca > ptimusk(a)sympatico.ca > web: www.crystalcomputing.net > blogs www.cyborgcitizen.org > > -----Original Message----- > From: air-l-bounces(a)listserv.aoir.org > [mailto:air-l-bounces@listserv.aoir.org] On Behalf Of Alejandro Tortolini > Sent: October-07-10 10:56 AM > To: List Aoir > Subject: [Air-L] Need help: virtual worlds and games grass-root rebellions > > Dear AoIR-lers: > > I need some help. I was invited to participate in a conference for games > developers and multimedia artist, and I´m thinking to talk about user´s > rebellions in online games and virtual worlds. Reading the Celia Pearce´s > book "Communities of play" (excellent reading) I found a mention of a WoW > rebellion, in 2004. > Can you suggest me some other readings about this kind of grass-root > protest > movements? Also any pictures? > Thank you very much =) > > Alejandro Tortolini > Science and technology journalist - Teacher > > Buenos Aires, Argentina > Contact Me [image: LinkedIn] > <http://ar.linkedin.com/in/alejandrotortolini> [image: > Twitter] <http://twitter.com/aletorto> > Chat [image: Skype/] aletor2 > Signature powered by > < > http://www.wisestamp.com/email-install?utm_source=extension&utm_medium=emai > l&utm_campaign=footer<http://www.wisestamp.com/email-install?utm_source=extension&utm_medium=emai…> > > > WiseStamp< > http://www.wisestamp.com/email-install?utm_source=extension&utm_me > dium=email&utm_campaign=footer<http://www.wisestamp.com/email-install?utm_source=extension&utm_me%0Adium=e…> > > > _______________________________________________ > 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] Need help: virtual worlds and games grass-root rebellions
by James Hinton 07 Oct '10

07 Oct '10

Alejandro, Ed Castronova's book "Synthetic Worlds" refers to several such rebellions in several different virtual worlds. The book is his examination of the economics of Virtual Worlds, and he devotes some time to rebellions as a means by which players can force the game companies to change the game. I recommend it highly. Edward Castronova. Synthetic Worlds, University of Chicago Press (2005). ISBN 0-226-09626-2 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0226096262> -James M. Hinton, Boise State University

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community defined by interaction
by Barry Wellman 07 Oct '10

07 Oct '10

Alexander and Uwe, Sorry to be an olde fogie, but Barry Leighton and I wrote in 1979 that communities are best defined by interaction. See "Networks, Neighborhoods and Communities," Urban Affairs QUarterly (or my website.) ANd even earlier, George Hillery wrote a paper that every urban sociologist had to memorize on the many (80?) ways that community has been defined. In shrot, YMMV Barry Wellman _______________________________________________________________________ S.D. Clark Professor of Sociology, FRSC NetLab Director Department of Sociology 725 Spadina Avenue, Room 388 University of Toronto Toronto Canada M5S 2J4 twitter:barrywellman http://www.chass.utoronto.ca/~wellman fax:+1-416-978-3963 Updating history: http://chass.utoronto.ca/oldnew/cybertimes.php _______________________________________________________________________

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(enjoy) Online Communities map - 2010
by Monica Murero 07 Oct '10

07 Oct '10

Dear AoIR Friends and Colleagues, Enjoy an uncommon map of online communities (2010) (not sure where AoIR is located, but hopefully we are on a warm, productive, and sunny island! ) http://xkcd.com/ All the best! Monica -------------------- Monica Murero , Ph.D. AoIR Exec, 2003-2009; AoIR Treasurer, 2005-2009 AoIR Lifetime Member Director E-Life International Institute Associate Professor in Politics of e-Government and in Sociology of New Technology University Federico II, Italy Consultant, World Health Organization. http://it.linkedin.com/pub/monica-murero-ph-d/16/52/606

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Call for Papers and Participation: HCSNet Workshop on Natural User Interfaces: Multitouch and Gestural Interactions
by Aaron Tan 07 Oct '10

07 Oct '10

Dear AoIR-lers, Please spread the word about this workshop happening in Melbourne, Australia on June 28 & 29. Thanks, Aaron. -----Original Message----- Call for Papers and Participation: HCSNet Workshop on Natural User Interfaces: Multitouch and Gestural Interactions What is the next major evolution in user interaction? HCSNet is offering a workshop that brings together people from different disciplines interested in Natural User Interfaces (NUI). This workshop will discuss the role NUI can play, themes of interest as well as future work that NUI enables. Do gestures completely replace typical mouse pointers or simply augment it for some functionality? Do all applications work with gestures or only a select few? The goal of this workshop is to make a first step in identifying challenges and characterising NUI design obstacles. Possible themes of interest include: * Multimodal interfaces * Robust spoken-language interaction * Intelligent user interfaces * Social interaction strategies * Gesture and embodied interaction * Conversational agents * Task and activity modelling * Environment-specific issues * Tangible and mobile devices We are pleased to announce a keynote presentation by Daniel Wigdor. Daniel is the User Experience Architect on the Microsoft Surface project, where he leads a team developing fundamentals of touch and gestural interaction. Before joining Microsoft, he conducted research in advanced user interfaces and devices at Mitsubishi Electric Research Labs, at the Initiative in Innovative Computing at Harvard University, and at the University of Toronto where he completed an MSc and a PhD in computer science, specializing in multi-surface direct-touch environments. Learn more about Daniel Wigdor. Our second international speaker is Jamie Zigelbaum. Jamie is now working at Oblong Industries in Los Angeles. He was a PhD student in the Tangible Media Group at the MIT Media Lab where he built and studied next generation computer interfaces. He specializes in gestural and tangible interfaces and works to create new interactions between humans and machines that enable the full use of our evolutionarily developed skills, expressive capabilities, and nuanced social behaviors. Oblong Industries is the developer of the g-speak spatial operating environment. Find out more about Oblong Industries. This workshop examines the NUI field as a base for future work within a multidisciplinary environment. The hope of this workshop is to develop a series of themes and design practices which have the potential to act as a base for future collaboration. We encourage those interested to participate in this workshop. Participants are required submit a short abstract discussing their thoughts on this field, and how it can fit within their existing work. HCSNet will fund a number of travel grants of up to $500 to help cover the costs of travel and accommodation for participants from outside the Melbourne area. For more information please visit: http://www.hcsnet.edu.au/hcsnetevents/2010/nui10

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Re: [Air-L] Definition of on-line community through homophily
by Uwe Matzat 07 Oct '10

07 Oct '10

Dear Alexander, Caroline, and others, I have a paper that runs through these definitions and argues that (some type of) online communities should be defined by common interest. You, Alexander, may want to shoot at it for your purpose: Matzat, U. (2004). "Cooperation and Community on the Internet: Past Issues and Present Perspectives for theoretical-empirical Internet Research" in: Analyse & Kritik, 26, 1: 63-90. (pre-print at my website) To be honest, I can't follow your argument. Maybe this is just a misunderstanding? But why does this type of definition imply a high degree of homophily? If you look at a "classical" online community, for instance a discussion fora about cancer, then there is a common interest (discussion about cancer). But there does not have to be a high degree of homophily. Members can have different educational, ethnic, and social backgrounds. Could you clarify? --------> So, my arguement is that community should be defined by interaction, not by some declarative features like interests, profiles, communities, etc. --------> I agree that for some other types of online communities ("social online communities") other criteria should be taken into account as well. See the article. Uwe ---------> ---------> Semenov Alexander semenoffalex at googlemail.com Wed Oct 6 01:46:52 PDT 2010 Previous message: [Air-L] Annette Markham guest professor in Aarhus Next message: [Air-L] Definition of on-line community through homophily Messages sorted by: [ date ] [ thread ] [ subject ] [ author ] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hello, everybody. I'm looking for papers, that define on-line communities through common itnerests. My idea is to prove, that many so-called communities in LiveJournals are not such, because there is too few discussions and other kind of interaction. So that joining such a community is mostly a demonstration of taste and part of self-presentation in their profiles. In order to prove that I want to run a PCA on the data from one of such communities like in Paolilo, Wright and Mercure's article ( http://www.scribd.com/doc/353326/The-Social-Semantics-of-LiveJournal-FOAF- Structure-and-Change-from-2004-to-2005). Their data show that there is no correlation between interests and friends and I understand it as lack of homophily. (Am I right?) So, that is my working hypothesis I want to prove. That's why I need some sources. I looked through Barry Wellman's works but he uses another approach. -- Alexander Semenov. MA student Faculty of Sociology Moscow School of Social and Economic Sciences (MSSES) http://www.msses.ru/English/index.html Graduate Student in Sociology at State University - Higher School of Economics http://www.hse.ru/eng ======================================= Uwe Matzat Sociology School of Innovation Science Eindhoven University of Technology P.O. Box 513, 5600 MB Eindhoven The Netherlands --------------- phone: + 31 40 247-8392 email: umatzat /"at"/ gmail.com http://umatzat.net =======================================

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CFP: The Mobile Media Reader
by noah.arceneaux＠sdsu.edu 06 Oct '10

06 Oct '10

Call For Submissions: The Mobile Media Reader Editors: Noah Arceneaux (San Diego State University) and Anandam Kavoori (University of Georgia) Peter Lang Publishing We are currently seeking contributions for The Mobile Media Reader, an anthology to be published by Peter Lang in 2012. This project began as an update of The Cell Phone Reader, a 2006 anthology of critical studies of various aspects of mobile communication. Given the dramatic and ongoing technological changes associated with mobile devices, we have now decided to compile an entirely new set of essays. The hype and hyperbole associated with mobile media recall the utopian hopes described by Carey and Quirk in their classic essay “The Mythos of the Electronic Revolution.” Portable, hand-held devices, originally designed for voice communication, are now promoted as the latest technological device necessary to live a complete, 21st century, middle-class life. Meanwhile, all of the established media industries, including television, film, music, and print, seek to reach consumers through mobile devices, altering their products and economic models in order to do so. In light of these developments, this anthology seeks historical studies and culturally informed critiques of different forms of mobile media. We are especially interested in essays that reveal earlier precedents for this current phenomenon, or works that reveal how business models and theories developed in the past should be re-evaluated for mobile audiences. The following list indicates the range of potential topics. - Location-based advertising - Privacy and surveillance concerns related to mobile devices - Government efforts to restrict mobile communication - New forms of television, designed for mobile devices - Ringtones as a new musical genre - History of hand-held video games - Cultural reception of the Walkman - Politics of spectrum allocation - Innovative uses of mobile communication by ethnic/racial/cultural groups Those interested in contributing should send an abstract (500 word max.) to Noah Arceneaux by October 22, 2010: noah.arceneaux(a)sdsu.edu Provisional Timeline: Abstracts accepted until October 22, 2010. Contributors notified by November 26, 2010. First drafts (6,500 words, Chicago Style) due May 16, 2011. Noah Arceneaux Assistant Professor of Media Studies San Diego State University Noah Arceneaux Assistant Professor of Media Studies San Diego State University

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Tenure-Track Position at Georgetown University (Washington, DC)
by Naomi Susan Baron 06 Oct '10

06 Oct '10

Georgetown University Language, Technology and Politics The Communication, Culture & Technology (CCT) M.A. program at Georgetown University focuses on the relationship between new computational technologies of communication and areas such as science, scholarship, culture, government, media, business, journalism and the arts. The program seeks to appoint a tenure-track Assistant Professor working on the relationship between language and technologies of communication and associated political issues. Candidates whose research emphasizes technology, internet linguistics, language and politics, intercultural communication, or language and sex/gender, race, class or national identity will be given priority. They should be current in the history, theory, and methodologies of their field. Applicants who demonstrate classroom experience using new media/digital teaching approaches, such as student-developed Web sites, blogs, digital stories, documentary film, and digital portfolios, are especially encouraged to apply. The successful candidate will have scholarly publications and teaching experience at the graduate level (or comparable), and be prepared to advise and to mentor M.A. thesis projects. Faculty are expected to contribute broadly to the interdisciplinary research and teaching of the program. Outstanding candidates may be considered for appointment at a higher rank. Georgetown University is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity employer and strongly encourages applications from women and minority candidates as part of its commitment to professional excellence and diversity. Please send application letter/statement of interest, c.v., and the names of three referees to cctjobs(a)georgetown.edu by 1 November 2010, citing LTPjob.

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