- Air-L - lists.aoir.org

Lessons learned (Was "snide, cute, ignorant, surprising")
by Deborah Elizabeth Finn 16 Dec '07

16 Dec '07

Dear AOIR Colleagues, <delurking> I thought I'd delurk, and share a few insights I've gleaned from my own experiences. Every so often, my hometown newspaper (the Boston Globe) calls me for some quotes about civic engagement or online social networking or both. The first conclusion I drew was, "If Deborah does not want to be misquoted or taken out of context, she should not talk to journalists." On further reflection, I revised this to, "If Deborah does not want to be misquoted or taken out of context, she should not talk to anyone." The latter is impossible, so I just do the best I can, and try to live with the results. </delurking> Best regards from Deborah Deborah Elizabeth Finn Cyber-Yenta Boston, Massachusetts, USA deborah_elizabeth_finn(a)post.harvard.edu www.cyber-yenta.org Recommended reading: "Universal Declaration of Human Rights" <http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Universal_Declaration_of_Human_Rights>

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My letter to Monica Hesse at the Post (was: snide, cute...)
by Terri Senft 16 Dec '07

16 Dec '07

I sent this ten minutes ago. Just wanted to share with the class, since I invited her to join us on the list. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dear Monica, Thank you for writing the piece on academics and social software scholarship. I thought many of your observations about turf wars were on the money (literally.) As an academic who writes about LiveJournal, Facebook and YouTube, I suppose I too could be viewed as someone jockeying for a piece of the social networking pie. I prefer to see myself as someone deeply interested in her field. When I am honest though, I have to admit 'interested' is too weak a word—on my good days, I actually believe social networks can change the way that institutions function, one person at a time. Which brings me to why I am writing today. Your writing style makes you seem approachable, so I am going to take a chance and hope you are open to the idea of joining us in a conversation that is currently taking place online regarding your article. The venue is the Association of Internet Researchers mailing list. Everyone you have quoted in your piece has already weighed in, and I know that would make me curious, if I were in your shoes. As you rightly intimate in your article, academic study of online social networking is a subcultural practice that has gone mainstream. Like all subcultures, it is best understood in the environment in which it transpires. If I were writing about rave DJ's, I wouldn't call people to ask about raving. I wouldn't even go to raves themselves. I would find out where the DJ's go, and see them interact. Although the analogy doesn't quite hold (our clothes aren't as interesting), the place where academics gather to discuss social networking isn't really the pages of the JCMC. It's the AIR-List, which began because we were all too far flung geographically to get to the same conferences. Even though you might get a bit of a ribbing now, I think you'd like the AIR List, and I believe it would be a great resource for your future reporting. The AIR conference (the physical one) is renowned for the fact that it never prints its badges with titles. I am Terri Senft from the University of East London, UK. I am not "Senior Lecturer," which means that grad students can and do talk to me on equal footing. At least during the conference, we are two people having a beer and talking about whether Twitter is less or more intrusive than Dodgeball. The AIR-List has always worked the same way. There are academics from all the disciplines you intimate are at war with one another, all talking together. There are grad students, there are activists, there are industry people, and there are reporters. I'd like to give you a concrete example of how AIR might help you with future articles. Towards the end of your piece, you intimate that because social software is so new, long-term analyses of its affects are non-existent. As someone with a book coming out that links mid-1990's webcamming communities to sites like YouTube, LiveJournal and Facebook, I feel the need to selfishly disagree. I know lots of other people on AIR-L (sociologists, computer scientists, political theorists, librarians) who can give you other examples of online social networking that predates the 'hot' sites of today. Historical work can be, and is being, done, and we'd love for you to hear about it. I didn't need your article to tell me that social software has grown ubiquitous, but I want to thank you for reminding me that the onus is on me to communicate, as much as it is on you to report news of research in the field. I thought about writing a letter to the editor about your piece. I've long considered volunteering to help with AoIR's press profile (not even sure if we have a press package.) I was finishing a book and I thought about volunteering to take some of the weight of danah boyd's shoulders (it cannot be a blast to have to answer every call from every newspaper about pedophilia scares on MySpace.) Then I realized I was missing the bit where the medium is the message. I'm sending you this note through the email address provided by the Post Online. I'd like you to talk directly with us on AIR-L. I think it would be great for us to keep a dialogue going, now and in the future, wherever your next assignment takes you. I would welcome your presence. To join the AIR List, you just need to go to http://listserv.aoir.org/listinfo.cgi/air-l-aoir.org and fill in some email details. I think I can speak for the membership when I say that I very much hope to see you there. Regards, Theresa M. Senft Senior Lecturer, Media Studies University of East London, UK http://www.terrisenft.net -- ---------------- Dr. Theresa M. Senft Senior Lecturer, Media Studies School of Social Sciences, Media and Cultural Studies University of East London Docklands Campus 4-6 University Way London E162RD www.terrisenft.net www.livejournal.com/users/tsenft -- Dr. Theresa M. Senft Senior Lecturer, Media Studies School of Social Sciences, Media and Cultural Studies University of East London Docklands Campus 4-6 University Way London E162RD www.terrisenft.net www.livejournal.com/users/tsenft

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AoIR in today's Washington Post
by Holly Kruse 16 Dec '07

16 Dec '07

Has no one really posted about this yet? The story about the academic study of social networking sites in today's Washington Post is really all about AoIR'ers. AoIR is mentioned, danah boyd is featured, Nancy Baym and Nicole Ellison weigh in, the latest issue of JCMC is commented upon: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/14/AR2007121400 606.htm Holly -- Holly Kruse Faculty of Communication The University of Tulsa 600 S. College Ave. Tulsa, OK 74104 918-631-3845 holly-kruse(a)utulsa.edu or holly.kruse(a)gmail.com http://www.personal.utulsa.edu/~holly-kruse

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Re: [Air-L] AoIR in today's Washington Post
by Marj Kibby 16 Dec '07

16 Dec '07

Dr Marjorie Kibby, Senior Lecturer in Communication & Culture Faculty of Education and Arts The University of Newcastle, Callaghan NSW 2308 Australia Marj.Kibby(a)newcastle.edu.au +61 2 49216604 >>> Nancy Baym <nbaym(a)ku.edu> 12/17/07 7:48 AM >>> ... and academia is mocked ;-) It's an old sport - but still fun: 'An excerpt from Liu's paper: "One of the newest stages for online textual performance of self is the Social Network Profile. The virtual materials of this performance are cultural signs . . . composed together into a 'taste statement' that is 'performed' through the profile." In other words: People on MySpace. List their favorite movies. To show their friends what they enjoy.' Marj

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Correction: AoIR in today's Washington Post
by Holly Kruse 16 Dec '07

16 Dec '07

In copying and pasting, I lost the "l" at the end of the URL. The correct one is http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/14/AR2007121400 606.html Holly -- Holly Kruse Faculty of Communication The University of Tulsa 600 S. College Ave. Tulsa, OK 74104 918-631-3845 holly-kruse(a)utulsa.edu or holly.kruse(a)gmail.com http://www.personal.utulsa.edu/~holly-kruse

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Call for papers: ICT skills and economic opportunities for marginalized groups
by Maria Garrido 15 Dec '07

15 Dec '07

The Journal of Information Technologies and International Development (ITID) invites submissions for a special issue titled ICT goes to work: Skills and economic opportunities for marginalized groups. Submission deadline: March 30th. Please visit http://mitpress.mit.edu/itid for more information about ITID, its author guidelines, and to submit a paper for this issue. When submitting the paper please indicate in the field "comments to the editors" that it is for the ICT skills and employability special issue Guest editors : Christopher T. Coward and Maria Garrido (Center for Information & Society, ICT and Development Group, University of Washington) and Akthar Badshah (Community Affairs, Microsoft Corporation) A fundamental premise of ICT and international development is that people equipped with basic ICT skills should be more employable than those without these skills, and in turn have access to increased economic opportunities. Many nongovernmental organizations, telecenters in particular, state that improving the economic livelihood of their communities is one of their most important missions. Many training programs from donor and public-supported to privately operated, have been built with the express purpose of providing the people who come into the centers with the basic skills they need to be hired by a local company, obtain a better-paying job, or start a microenterprise. This special issue on ICT goes to work: Skills and economic opportunities for marginalized groups invites papers that address this topic with novel, theoretically grounded, and methodologically sound research. We will also accept a limited number of practitioner submissions. Papers may address the following questions, for example: * To what extent does having basic ICT skills affect an individual's employment prospects (e.g., quantitative analyses of income differentials, numbers and types of jobs that are available)? * Have basic ICT skills positively affected microenterprise creation? * How does gaining ICT skills affect employability compared with gaining other types of skills (e.g., learning English, learning how to search for jobs)? * What are the approaches and outcomes of different training programs? * What government policies and other factors influence employability? This special issue is primarily concerned with basic ICT skills (e.g., computer fundamentals, productivity applications, employment sector specific applications) and programs targeting marginalized populations, not with the advanced engineering skills needed for employment in, for instance, the IT export service sector. The topic of this ITID special issue is inherently multidisciplinary. The editors welcome a diverse pool of submissions from fields such as economics, development communications, education, rural sociology, engineering, and public policy. Information Technologies and International Development (ITID) is the leading journal focusing on the intersection of information and communication technologies (ICT) with international development. ITID is published by the MIT Press and edited at the University of Southern California and the Georgia Institute of Technology. If you have any questions related to this special issue, please contact: Maria Garrido, PhD migarrid(a)u.washington.edu<mailto:migarrid@u.washington.edu> Research Associate Center for Information and Society, ICT and Development Group The Information School, University of Washington

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CFP ASIS&T AM 08
by Richard Hill 14 Dec '07

14 Dec '07

People Transforming Information - Information Transforming People October 24-29, 2008 Hyatt Regency, Columbus, OH Complete Call: HTTP://WWW.ASIS.ORG/Conferences/am08/AM08cfp.HTML ASIS&T 2008 will focus on how people transform information as well as how information transforms people. Submissions by researchers and practitioners are solicited on a wide range of human-centered approaches to topics. TYPES OF SUBMISSIONS Contributed papers http://www.softconf.com/asis/AM08_Contributed_Papers/submit.html The submission of original, recent, formally conducted research and projects, theoretical developments, or innovative practical applications is encouraged. Accepted papers will be published in the digital conference proceedings. Contributed posters/short papers http://www.softconf.com/asis/AM08_Posters/submit.html Two types of posters/short papers are encouraged. Contributed research posters present new and promising work or preliminary results of research projects. Contributed best practices posters present the results of design projects, practical implementations or industry innovations. The final version of these short papers will be published in the digital conference proceedings. During the conference, presenters are expected to display their work as a poster, incorporating text and illustrations as appropriate. Technical sessions and panels http://www.softconf.com/asis/AM08-Panels/submit.html Technical sessions and panels present topics for discussion such as cutting-edge research and design, analyses of emerging trends, opinions on controversial issues, reports by practitioners on current information science and technology projects, and contrasting viewpoints from experts in complementary professional areas. The final versions of these submissions will be published in the digital conference proceedings. Pre- and Post-conference sessions http://www.softconf.com/asis/AM08_Pre-Post_Cons/submit.html Pre- and Post-conference sessions present topics such as theoretical research, management strategies, and new and innovative systems or products, typically for purposes of concept development or continuing education. Purely promotional programs are excluded. Formats may include seminars, courses, workshops, and symposia. Sessions are scheduled for half to a full day and require a registration fee beyond the regular conference fee. Submission Deadlines Jan.21, 2008 Proposals due for contributed papers, technical sessions panels, and pre- or Post-conferences Feb. 25, 2008 Proposals due for contributed posters/short papers March 31, 2008 Authors/proposers notified of acceptance May 27, 2008 Final versions due for conference proceedings Any problems with electronic submissions should be directed to: Richard Hill (rhill(a)asis.org) _____ Executive Director American Society for Information Science and Technology 1320 Fenwick Lane, Suite 510 Silver Spring, MD 20910 FAX: (301) 495-0810 (301) 495-0900

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new AoIR Executive Committee + solstitial greetings
by Charles Ess 14 Dec '07

14 Dec '07

Hi all, I know it's a very busy time of year, but I wanted to pass on to you a bit of an update from the new Executive Committee. In addition to some of the usual sorts of things taken up by the Executive Committee (e.g., listserv and membership management questions, whether or not we should pursue the suggestion of several members to start our own journal, etc.), we have spent quite some time since Vancouver on the following items: 1. AoIR 2008 / Internet Research 9.0, Copenhagen, Denmark, 15 - Planning continues apace, with Lisbeth Kastrup as chair of the Local Organizing Committee, and Brian Loader, Program Chair. We anticipate an expanded CFP to come out before 21. December or so, along with affiliated website, including accommodation information, etc. (Our solstice gift ...) Also: look for an announcement soon - watch this space! - for a conference on Website histories, affiliated with AoIR 2008 / IR 9.0, at Aarhus University: double your pleasure and professional engagements when coming to Denmark next Fall for AoIR! 2. As Åsa Rosenberg, our new Graduate Student representative, notes below, there is work to be done on redesigning the AoIR web site. In other news: look for the next Newsletter soon! == The Executive Committee for 2007-2009 is as follows: President - Charles Ess Vice-President - Mia Consalvo Treasurer - Monica Murero Secretary - Sabyrna Cornish Graduate Student - Asa Rosenberg Open Seats (3) - Axel Bruns, Heidi Campbell, Marcus Foth Past President - Matthew Allen Systems Officers (2) - Alex Halavais, Holly Kruse Here is what we hope will be a helpful introduction to your new Executive Committee: _______________________________________________ MATTHEW ALLEN (PAST PRESIDENT) Matthew Allen has been taking a break from day to day engagement with AoIR affairs prior to commencing a review of the AoIR by-laws. Email: <M.Allen(a)exchange.curtin.edu.au> _______________________________________________ MIA CONSALVO (VICE-PRESIDENT) I am the new VP for AoIR, and after a bit of a rest from the recent conference, I'm ready to dive into exec work. I'm currently teaching in the School of Telecommunications at Ohio University, and I'm co-editing (with Charles Ess and Robert Burnett) the Blackwell Handbook of Internet Studies, and also writing about fashion in MMOGs. For the immediate term I want to familiarize myself with the aoir-exec, and begin planning for the 2009 AoIR conference. Mia Consalvo <consalvo(a)ohio.edu> _______________________________________________ MONICA MURERO (TREASURER) Monica continues her close and much appreciated attention to matters of budget and membership, with a view towards insuring that AoIR remains financially sound. email: <murero(a)eircom.net> _______________________________________________ SABRYNA CORNISH (SECRETARY) I have been working with Matt on getting the membership into a workable document to make it easier to determine who the members are and also help facilitate renewals when necessary. I have been putting the notes together from the exec meetings at the conference and also have been working on a media kit for the AoIR that can go to the news media and general public. Sabryna Cornish Assistant professor of journalism Department of communication Northern Illinois University Email: <a135672(a)wpo.cso.niu.edu> _______________________________________________ ÅSA ROSENBERG (GRADUATE STUDENT REPRESENTATIVE) Hi, my main undertaking is trying to get http://www.aoir.org rebuilt so that it better suits the current needs of the organization. This will probably take some time, but next on my list is to try to establish a stable communication channel for grad students. The Grad student mailing list is open at this time and all grads are more then welcome to join and post to it. http://listserv.aoir.org/listinfo.cgi/air-grad-aoir.org -asa Department of Sociology Göteborg University, Sweden <asa.rosenberg(a)sociology.gu.se> _______________________________________________ MARCUS FOTH (OPEN SEAT) I have been on the executive of AoIR for just over a month now and it has been a steep learning curve in many aspects. I think it is good to get a few new pairs of fresh eyes to look at established things and sometimes question things in order to check if there are opportunities to improve on what we've achieved so far. That is at least one of my goals. I'm also excited to work with my fellow 'executers' to focus on AoIR as a member-based support network and explore new ideas and new ways to enable members to network and collaborate. Marcus Foth Institute for Creative Industries and Innovation Queensland University of Technology (CRICOS No. 00213J) Creative Industries Precinct, Brisbane QLD 4059, Australia m.foth(a)qut.edu.au - http://www.vrolik.de/publications/ _______________________________________________ AXEL BRUNS (OPEN SEAT) I'm a Senior Lecturer in the Creative Industries Faculty at Queensland University of Technology in Brisbane, Australia. I'm particularly interested in AoIR maintaining and expanding its international reach (without losing its strong support base in North America and Europe) and building an even stronger sense of collegiality across our membership. Of course the conferences are one key to this, and as chair of the 2006 conference I'm keen to use that experience to support the planning for Copenhagen in October 2008, and the development of our conference schedule for the years beyond. -- Dr Axel Bruns http://snurb.info/ Senior Lecturer, Media & Communication a.bruns(a)qut.edu.au Creative Industries Faculty, Z2-202, CIP Skype: LexaSnurb Queensland University of Technology +61 7 3138 5548 Musk Ave, Kelvin Grove, Qld. 4059, Australia CRICOS No.: 00213J _______________________________________________ HEIDI CAMPBELL (OPEN SEAT) Howdy, I work at the home of the fighting Texas Aggies as an Assistant Professor of Communication in Media Studies (Whoop!). I'm still learning the ropes of the executive after my first month on board and am staying active in our discussions of AoIR business as well as my involvement in the AoIR Ethics Working Group. I am looking forward to helping develop AoIR's networking and international profile. Assistant Professor Department of Communication Texas A&M University College Station TX 77843-4234 (email) heidic(a)tamu.edu (web) http://comm.tamu.edu/people/profiles/campbell.html _______________________________________________ HOLLY KRUSE - LIST MANAGER I'm Holly Kruse, assistant professor of communication at the University of Tulsa, list manager for air-l and air-exec, and the reason why Axel has only just joined us. Sorry! I've been doing the usual thing of approving air-l subscriptions after receiving brief bios from potential subscribers (and sometimes investigating a bit further), helping subscribers with subscription issues, and dissuading people who do executive searches online and think subscribing to air-l might provide them with some sort of professional organizational certification (???) from subscribing to the list (the last is a recent phenomenon.) Holly -- Holly Kruse Faculty of Communication The University of Tulsa 600 S. College Ave. Tulsa, OK 74104 918-631-3845 holly-kruse(a)utulsa.edu or holly.kruse(a)gmail.com http://www.personal.utulsa.edu/~holly-kruse _______________________________________________ ALEX HALAVAIS (SYSTEMS OFFICER) I'm Alex Halavais, and I teach in the Interactive Communication program at Quinnipiac University. I am taking on a second term in this position. Generally, I hope to simplify some of the (too) complicated processes that require systems support, and look for small, high-value ways of leveraging our systems. Much of that role is supporting active members of the AoIR community who are working on projects that have some computing component. I'll be supporting groups who are developing the new aoir.org website, as well as those who are working on our support for Copenhagen. If you have a project you want to work on for the benefit of AoIR, please let me know, and I can try to put you in touch with others who share your interests. // Alexander C. Halavais // Social Architect // http://alex.halavais.net _______________________________________________ CHARLES ESS (PRESIDENT) Mostly, I've been working on keeping up with these very busy folk - along with groundwork and organizational matters for the AoIR 2008 / IR 9.0 and affiliated conferences. _______________________________________________ As you can see (if you've read this far, that is), AoIR is moving forward in good ways, both as we review and revise some of our foundations (website, by-laws, membership system, conference management software) and as we expand our offerings and services to our members. For example, this year begins an affiliation with the journal Information, Communication & Society, which will publish the first AoIR special issue, made up of selected papers from AoIR 2007 / IR 8.0 (thanks, Barry Wellman, Carolyn Haythornthwaite, and Mia Consalvo!) - and next year's AoIR 2008 / IR 9.0 conference will feature not only the marvelous facilities of IT-University and Copenhagen University (along with the delights of Copenhagen itself) - but also an affiliated conference that will significantly enhance participants' understanding and enjoyment. We hope - and trust - that your engagement with AoIR will continue to be both professionally beneficial and personally rewarding. Happy holidays! - c. Guest Professor (fall, 2007), Department of Media Studies IT Park Helsingforsgade 14 8200 Aarhus N Denmark Office: (45) 8942 9219 Mobile: (45) 2986 8967 Distinguished Research Professor, Global Studies Center <http://www.drury.edu/gp21> Drury University Springfield, MO 65802 USA President, Association of Internet Researchers <www.aoir.org> Co-Editor, International Journal of Internet Research Ethics http://www.uwm.edu/Dept/SOIS/cipr/ijire.html Co-chair, CATaC conferences <www.catacconference.org> Professor II, Globalization and Applied Ethics Programmes <http://www.anvendtetikk.ntnu.no/pres/bridgingcultures.php> Exemplary persons seek harmony, not sameness. -- Analects 13.23

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PhD Course on 'The Evolution of Media' at University of Copenhage n
by Mogens Olesen 14 Dec '07

14 Dec '07

Dear AoIR'ers Att. PhD Students: a PhD Course is coming up on March 6th-7th 2008 at The University of Copenhagen, Denmark. The title is The Evolution of Media: from Face-to-Face to FaceBook and will include guest lectures by Professor Robert K. Logan, University of Toronto, Professor Niels Ole Finnemann, University of Aarhus, Professor Terje Rasmussen, University of Oslo, Professor Klaus Bruhn Jensen, University of Copenhagen and Associate Professor Bo Kampmann Walther, University of Southern Denmark. The Course Presentation is available at http://www.fmkj.dk/fmkjkurser/index.php?anchor=47 <http://www.fmkj.dk/fmkjkurser/index.php?anchor=47> Deadline for enrolment is February 11th 2008. PhD Students with interests in these or related topics are most welcome to contact Annette Nørballe - <mailto:annoe@ruc.dk> annoe(a)ruc.dk - for further information. Kind Regards, Mogens Olesen PhD Fellow Department of Film and Media Studies University of Copenhagen Njalsgade 80 DK-2300 Copenhagen S Denmark <mailto:olesen@hum.ku.dk> olesen(a)hum.ku.dk Tlf. + 45 35 32 81 03

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Just out: Geert Lovink & Trebor Scholz (eds.), "The Art of Free Cooperation"
by geert lovink 14 Dec '07

14 Dec '07

Geert Lovink & Trebor Scholz (eds.), "The Art of Free Cooperation" What are the rules of collaboration in “free cooperation”? If you are anxiously awaiting an answer to this question, or debates linking web-based, cooperation-enhancing technologies to the broader world of political activism, check out this book. Put together as a response to what the editors identified as a "crisis in new-media art education," FC contains essays from media theorists and critics Howard Rheingold, Christoph Spehr, Brian Holmes and the editors. The book provides concrete tactics and techniques for voluntary associations, be they cultural, political, social, economic, and examines the dynamics (or, the methodologies and politics) that can emerge within such groups, and also comes with DVD packed with additional texts, highlights from an international "Free Cooperation" conference, and a feature-length film collage, narrated by Tony Conrad. Limited copies are available. 274 pp, $20 For more information or to buy the book, go to: http://autonomedia.org/node/41

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