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Inoltra: CFP: Web 2.0 and the Teaching of Writing (6/15/07; journal issues)
by beatrice bittarello 12 May '07

12 May '07

Just arrived in my mailbox! Best Wishes, M.Beatrrce Bittarello PhD candidate University of Stirling Stirling, Scotland, UK --------------------------------- L'email della prossima generazione? Puoi averla con la nuova Yahoo! Mail

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Re: [Air-l] "lurking"
by Christopher Berg 12 May '07

12 May '07

I agree: "lurk" has a negative ring, and not without reason: when the expression came into being, it was inconceivable that someone would sit on a BBS and do nothing but lurk in the message section. Now, however, people spend days at a time online doing nothing but lurk in the bandwidth. Perhaps we should change the word, to reflect the changing time: I'm in favor of "wallflower." Chris Berg TA - English Dept., NC State University Ph.D. Student - CRDM Office: T-G116A Phone: 513-7967 cbberg(a)ncsu.edu http://www4.ncsu.edu/~cbberg

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Re: [Air-l] we need a better word than lurking
by jerichob＠juno.com 11 May '07

11 May '07

I like the concept of grazing, as well - as I said in my earlier post, I'm too used to the word "lurk" in its non-Internet usage to a) consider myself to be doing that, when I am not posting to lists, and b) consider others whose existence I am basically unaware of to be doing that. I am just curious: for those who consider "lurking" to be problematic or undesirable - is it problematic for the lurkers (who, as John Veitch point out, may be missing a learning opportunity), or for the lurkees - the people on the lists who do participate regularly? And if the latter, why? I haven't done much - well, any - reading in this area, so I don't know what the arguments could be, though I can speculate. Indeed, for some types of lists, I can see lack of participation becoming a problem. My department's graduate student list, during the seven years I've been there, has gone from a place where we used to discuss intellectual topics relevant to our field as well as departmental policies and politics, to a place where people announce parties and free food opportunities. Which are important, too, but the silence on other topics is deafening to the few of us who are still around from the "old days." It's definitely a symptom of a bigger change in the community. But in academic or professional lists where there remain a number of active participants on a variety of topics, the lurker load doesn't seem to be problematic (unless it's a question of maintenance or something). Unless it just bothers people who don't know who is reading their posts, or there is a concern that the list may stagnate. This thread was introduced because someone didn't think lurking should be considered a bad thing, and thus should have a label with less negative connotations, but in the discussion some fairly strong normative judgments about lurkers and lurking have emerged which seem to indicate that having a word with negative connotations is warranted. It's interesting. Jericho -- "Martin Garthwaite" <marting(a)gmail.com> wrote: Lurking has negative connotations, so I dislike it as a term also, I have always thought of this activity as "grazing", implies a non malicious activity of consuming what is freely available, as and when suits the grazer and fits in very neatly with the concept of the commons. I picked up the concept of grazing from Lessig.

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Inacurate attibution
by James Whyte 11 May '07

11 May '07

My apology to Patricia Lange for assigning "What is Your Claim to Flame" to a fictional Susan Lange. I have just reread it and it is cogent to the current thread. Good work by the way. Sorry,. James --------------------------------- Ahhh...imagining that irresistible "new car" smell? Check outnew cars at Yahoo! Autos.

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Zotero and sharing saved web pages & notes
by Frank Thomas 11 May '07

11 May '07

I just started to use Zotero and am delighted how easy it is to save web pages and publications, include references and notes, and export into my EndNote reference manager. Now I want to share my grabs with my colleagues. I think they have not yet attacked the sharing of saved pages and annotations. Or do I miss something ? Regards, Frank Thomas -- .......................................... Dr. Frank Thomas FTR Internet Research 93110 Rosny-sous-Bois France

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Institute of Network Cultures Newsletter
by geert lovink 11 May '07

11 May '07

Institute of Network Cultures http://www.networkcultures.org Upcoming events Media Archive All audio and video documentation from our past events and conferences is currently available at the INC Media Archive. The November 06 MyCreativity documentation includes Video On Demand and podcasts of all sessions, and a PDF version of the newspaper. Also check the archive for audiovisual material on Urban Screens 05, The Art and Politics of Netporn, Incommunicado 05 and A Decade of Webdesign, at http://www.networkcultures.org/archive/ New Network Theory On June 28-30 2007, the Institute of Network Cultures, Media Studies (University of Amsterdam) and the Amsterdam School for Cultural Analysis (ASCA) will organize the New Network Theory conference. Please see http://www.networkcultures.org/networktheory/ for the full program and additional information. Registration for the conference has opened at http://www.networkcultures.org/networktheory/index.php? onderdeelID=12&paginaID=73. Due to limited capacity of the venue, we kindly advise you to register shortly. The New Network Theory discussion list has been set up in preparation of the conference. The list is meant for all those interested in the topic, and will possibly continue after the event in June 2007. To subscribe to the list, go to http://listcultures.org/mailman/listinfo/networktheory_listcultures.org Network Notebook nr.1 Network Notebooks is a series of publications on recent new media theory. INC proudly presents: Network Notebooks nr.1 by Rosalind Gill: Technobohemians or the new Cybertariat? New media work in Amsterdam a decade after the web. To order printed copies, please send an email to info (at) networkcultures.org. For more information and a freely available pdf of thye book, visit http:// www.networkcultures.org/networknotebooks About the publication Accounts of new media working draw heavily on two polarised stereotypes, veering between techno-utopianism on the one hand, and a vision of web-workers as the new ‘precariat’, victims of neoliberal economic policies and moves to flexibilisation and insecurity on the other. Heralded from both perspectives as representing the brave new world of work what is striking is the absence of research on new media workers own experiences, particularly in a European context. This report goes beyond the contemporary myths of new media work, to explore how people working in the field experience the pleasures, pressures and challenges of working on the web. Illustrated throughout with quotations from interviews, this research examines the different career biographies emerging for content-producers in web-based industries, questions the relevance of existing education and training, and highlights the different ways in which people manage and negotiate freelancing, job insecurity, and keeping up to date in a fast-moving field where software and expectations change rapidly. The research is based on 35 interviews, held in Amsterdam in 2005, and contextually draws upon a further 60 interviews with web designers in London and Brighton. The interviews were carried out by Danielle van Diemen and Rosalind Gill. (C)lick Me: 2nd International Netporn Festival On Saturday June 2, Paradiso will host (C)lick Me, organized by Paradiso, Katrien Jacobs, Matteo Pasquinelli and the Institute of Network Cultures. (C)lick Me is an international manifestation where scholars, artists, producers and critics join to discuss the social, political, ethnic and artistic aspects of internet pornography. The event will be divided into a day program, an evening with dinner and screenings, and a performance night. For additional information and the full program, see http://www.c-lickme.nl. Recalling RFID September 20-21 2007, in collaboration with De Balie, Rob van Kranenburg and Oliver Leistert. Seminar and workshops on the social, cultural and political implications of RFID (radio frequency identification). Speakers include people from the industry, researchers, artists, and programmers. They will address questions such as: What happens to privacy? How safe is a tag? What is the role of the designer in a smart environment? And is there something like RFID etiquette? More information: info(a)networkcultures.org. Urban Screens Manchester October 11-12 2007, in collaboration with BBC Public Space Broadcasting, Cornerhouse Manchester, MDDA. The next Urban Screens Conference focuses on the development of non-commercial content for big urban displays such as LED, LCD, plasma screens, media façades and projections onto buildings. What characterises these huge displays as media platforms in urban space and which particular spatial and social situations do they create? How are they perceived? How does creative content flow from this? At the two-day international conference media experts, designers, artists, architects and broadcasters will present and explore the vast spectrum of potential content. Conference homepage: http://www.manchesterurbanscreens.org.uk/ Video Vortex On November 30 and December 1 2007 the INC, in collaboration with Seth Keen and Vera Tollmann, will organize the Video Vortex Conference at PostCS 11 in Amsterdam. The Video Vortex conference aims to contextualize these latest developments through presenting continuities and discontinuities in the artistic, activist and mainstream perspective of the last few decades. Unlike the way online video presents itself as the latest and greatest, there are long threads to be woven into the history of visual art, cinema and documentary production. The rise of the database as the dominant form of storing and accessing cultural artifacts has a rich tradition that still needs to be explored. The evening program will feature live performances under the banner of video slamming. We will trace the history from short film to one-minute videos to the first experiments with streaming media and online video, along with exploring the way VJs and media artists are accessing and using online archives. For additional information, see http://www.networkcultures.org/videovortex/ -=-==-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Institute of Network Cultures Amsterdam Media Research Centre info(at)networkcultures.org http://www.networkcultures.org

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Call for research network: Stories of a bronze soldier
by Pille Pruulmann-Vengerfeldt 11 May '07

11 May '07

Although not solely internet research, I will still send it to here as well hoping to attract interest Feel free to distribute! Pille Pruulmann-Vengerfeldt, PhD University of Tartu Estonia --------- *Stories of a Bronze Soldier: An internationally comparative analysis of the media coverage of the Estonian-Russian conflict over the relocation of a WWII memorial. * Before April 26, 2007, nobody expected that the relocation of one bronze soldier in Tallinn, Estonia, would escalate into a major crisis. Russians within and outside Estonia took the relocation of the monument commemorating the victorious Red army soldiers of WWII as the stone of contention. Peaceful protests grew and turned violent, leading to looting and fighting, with one dead and many injured. The protest was picked up by the Russian government, bringing the crisis to an international level. Hostilities unloaded into physical threats against Estonian officials, and denial of service attacks of a magnitude that surprised even NATO. The sudden escalation of the seemingly local conflict received coverage in most of Europe. By the time of the victory day celebrations in Russia, eyes of most of European media were turned on Estonia, expecting „interesting“ coverage, and supplying a broad range of interpretations of the events in Tallinn. We are hoping to quickly set up an research team to conduct a comparative analysis of the international media coverage on the crisis around the bronze soldier. Combining quantitative and qualitative methods of analysis, we hope to use this focal event to illuminate the variety of stories told about the events. *Project plan:* - data collection – 2-3 major daily/weekly newspapers from each participating country and 2-3 online news sites/blogs – probably from period 26/4-26/5 (depending on the further developments of the conflict) - qualitative reading of the media coverage - develop analysis categories in co-operation - develop analytical framework for international comparison - do systematic content analysis - juxtapose the cases and stories told Possible theoretical frameworks: media war, agenda setting, framing, crisis news, European public sphere etc The aim is to get bigger research project going, so that different analyses could be published as one or more international comparative publications. Interested researchers are invited to send their contact and statement of interest to bronze.soldier.research(a)gmail.com Dr. Pille Pruulmann-Vengerfeldt (University of Tartu) Christian Baden (University of Amsterdam) Pille Runnel (University of Tartu)

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Re: [Air-l] where does the term "lurking" come from
by William Bain 11 May '07

11 May '07

Terry Calhoun wrote: "There is immense value in having lots of people connected, even if most are silent." Silent partners? :-) Actually I also like the gentle jab involved in lurker, my usual niche in this learned assembly. To which I now retire to catnap (catnip?.......... Best wishes, Will William Bain PhD Student Comparative Literature Department of Spanish Philology Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona --------------------------------- Moody friends. Drama queens. Your life? Nope! - their life, your story. Play Sims Stories at Yahoo! Games.

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where does the term "lurking" come from
by Barry Wellman 11 May '07

11 May '07

As one of the age-oldest (64) and email-oldest (since 1976) members of this list, I'd like to hazard a remembrance of where the term "lurking" comes. (Speaking of which, where is Blair Nonnecke, because that's what his diss was on?) In times past, the vision was a small, tightly-knit virtual community all communing with each other. (Think of the WELL). In that vision, non-communicators were not playing by the rules of the game of the active community. They were "lurking" while others were active community builders. Now, it's pretty clear that most people move among a bunch of partial communities, participating to various extent in some but not others. They are readers in some/many, and more or less contributors to others. This is true online as well as offline. So "lurking" only makes sense in things like a small workgroup or family circle, where all are expected to communicate. It makes no sense for this large list, or for others. PS: Thanks to James Whyte for his count of who participates. One slight methodological flaw. If there are 1800 on this list now, there probably are > 2000 who have been on at some point in the past 12 months in which he counted participation. So the denominator is off. Hence the proportion of contributors is probably low by 10 to 20%. But still, this is an impressively active list. Barry Wellman _____________________________________________________________________ Barry Wellman S.D. Clark Professor of Sociology NetLab Director Centre for Urban & Community Studies University of Toronto 455 Spadina Avenue Toronto Canada M5S 2G8 fax:+1-416-978-7162 wellman at chass.utoronto.ca http://www.chass.utoronto.ca/~wellman For fun -- updating songs, movies and history: http://chass.utoronto.ca/oldnew/cybertimes.php Elvis wouldn't be singing Return to Sender now _____________________________________________________________________

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Re: [Air-l] we need a better word than lurking
by Lane DeNicola 11 May '07

11 May '07

This very same point might well be made in the references mentioned, but to add to the interesting discussion here, I've always thought "auditor" a more appropriate substitute for "lurker," in the same sense as one who "audits" classes. The slipperiness in "lurker" (at least for listservs) seems to be the conflation of two things: "participation" (as in speaking/posting) and "invisibility" (as in anonymity). IMHO the term "lurker" implies not just silence but anonymity or the option of some degree of concealment. A student who "audits" a class can't be very anonymous, but (in some strict sense) is expected to be more of a listener than a speaker (compared to the norm). "Speaking" or the more active sorts of participation are usually primarily the decision of individual members, but the level of "anonymity" afforded them is the product of decisions by both members AND list moderators/owners. AIR-L, for example, is configured so that the subscriber list is only accessible to list moderators and owners; members cannot know who other members are (or more precisely what their email addresses are) unless they post that information or otherwise provide their consent. Listservs where that information is also accessible to members lean more in the direction of enabling "auditing" (though even there, members can retain anonymity via email aliases and the like). The "negative" connotations of "lurker" have both to do with passivity or a perceived lack of community commitment (via "participation") AND with anonymity or concealment. Both models (communities that enable "lurking" or "auditing") offer distinct advantages, obviously. --Lane DeNicola Message: 16 Date: Tue, 8 May 2007 16:11:57 +0200 From: Ulf-Dietrich Reips <ureips(a)genpsy.unizh.ch> Subject: Re: [Air-l] we need a better word than lurking To: air-l(a)listserv.aoir.org, aoir list <air-l(a)aoir.org> Message-ID: <p06230931c26633dfa757(a)[10.0.1.3]> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" ; format="flowed" Hi Barry, all, you might be interested in the following two works: Stegbauer, C. & Rausch, A. (2002). Lurkers in mailing lists. In B. Batinic, U.-D. Reips, & M. Bosnjak (Eds.), Online Social Sciences (pp. 263-274). Seattle: Hogrefe & Huber. Bosnjak, M. (2001). Participation in non-restricted web surveys: A typology and explanatory model for item non- response. In U.-D. Reips & M. Bosnjak (Eds.), Dimensions of Internet Science (pp. 193-208). Lengerich: Pabst. While the first one is from the area of social network theory, the second one proposes a highly useful typology of non-responders in online research. In Bosnjak's view, lurkers are just one of seven types. While created for online research, the typology seems useful for other purposes as well. Best --u -- Lane DeNicola Doctoral Candidate | Dept. of Science & Technology Studies Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute http://www.nacresky.com/lad Tried the Science Studies Search Engine? <http://www.nacresky.com/ssse>

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