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CFP special issue of Mobile Media & Communication on COVID-19
by Adriana de Souza e Silva 02 Jun '21

02 Jun '21

Hi all, Mai Nou Xiong-Gum <https://www.facebook.com/mn.xiong.98?__cft__[0]=AZUX9tb6zL-mFmSOdGlx4jRvXxF…> and I are co-editing a special issue of Mobile Media & Communication. Please help us share widely. Abstracts submission deadline is August 30th. CFP below. https://journals.sagepub.com/home/mmc _________________________________ Adriana de Souza e Silva, Ph.D. University Faculty Scholar | Professor Department of Communication | North Carolina State University www.souzaesilva.com <http://www.souzaesilva.com/> ***apologies for cross-postings*** Call for papers for a special issue of Mobile Media & Communication, vol. 11, no. 2 (May 2023) COVID-19 Now and Then: Reflections on Mobile Communication and the Pandemic Editors: Adriana de Souza e Silva (aasilva(a)ncsu.edu <mailto:aasilva@ncsu.edu>) Professor of Communication, North Carolina State University Mai Nou Xiong-Gum (mnxiong.gum(a)furman.edu <mailto:mnxiong.gum@furman.edu>) Assistant Professor of Communication, Furman University Although our history with pandemics is long, our collective memory of pandemics is short. The 1918 influenza pandemic, for example, infected almost a third of the world’s population and claimed more than 100 million lives, and yet it has been scarcely mentioned afterwards (Crosby, 2003). This tendency to forget lessons learned from pandemics is problematic because it leads to the lack of proper public funds allocation for scientific research, public health, and pandemic preparedness. In addition, with the urge to go back to “normal,” we might forget important lessons that a large-scale public health crisis might have taught us about the way we communicate and experience spaces. Understanding these lessons is especially important to mobile communication scholars since mobile communication can distribute and diffract our ability to move in the world. Mobile communication can make our movements legible, as in the examples of contact-tracing apps or of aggregating location data to visualize mobility patterns at the individual and the community level (Ekong et al., 2020). Our experience of spaces, mediated by mobile communication devices, has also drastically changed with the pandemic. While the traditionally mobile global elites (Castells, 2000) are privileged enough to become immobile and work remotely, many low-income populations with limited access to technology or the infrastructure that supports mobile communication are forced to keep moving in order to work or to find access to these infrastructures. Noticeably, refugees and migrants, as well as low-income communities in rural or “less developed” areas in the Global North and South, developed creative forms of mobility to deal with the required immobility imposed by the pandemic (de Souza e Silva & Xiong-Gum, 2020). For example, for many people with no computer or internet connection at home, their mobile phone became the most important instrument for mobile work, connecting from home, reaching out to clients, taking orders, and paying bills. Mobile phones became systematically used as interfaces for tele-medicine, locate testing sites, and contact-tracing. For those who shelter in place, mobile applications that support delivery services for food or grocery items play a critical role in the continued circulation of goods in the growing of a mobile-guided gig economy. In locations without access to mobile communication such as signal “dead zones,” people have to travel to engage in mobile communication and in locations where others cannot travel, mobilities are outsourced. As a result, a network of mobilities emerge as our mobile capabilities inform our mobile communication capabilities and vice versa. The COVID-19 pandemic may soon be over, but we know it won’t be the last one. Preparing for the next pandemic includes understanding the past and planning for the future. It also includes rethinking “normal” ways of interacting with others and the spaces in which we live. What else have we learned during this time of forced immobility that might challenge the traditional roles of mobile communication in our everyday lives? Will the way we experience public and domestic spaces via mobile technologies change? What are some of the more sustainable futures of urban networked mobility? How can we rethink the meanings of social interaction while immobile and at distance? And, will some of these shifts permanently stay with us and change how we communicate, play, and socialize? These are just some questions that emerge when we consider the future of mobile communication and networked urban mobility after COVID-19. In this special issue, we are looking for future oriented pieces that analyze how the pandemic has shaped and changed our mobile communication, sociability and networked urban mobility practices around the world. We welcome papers that might take the lessons learned during this pandemic and consider how these lessons can help us in the future. We particularly welcome contributions that analyze the impacts of the pandemic in the practices of minoritized populations, especially in the Global South. Possible topics include, but are not limited to: The future of urban networked mobility in both Global North and South The shift to more sustainable forms of micromobiity, particularly focusing on the integration between transportation and mobile apps New forms of experiencing urban and public spaces via mobile technologies that take into account active mobility and walking The mobile-guided gig economy for delivery of services The development of location-based apps that can help us prepare for the next pandemic The future of contact-tracing apps, and their relationship with privacy and surveillance The shift in the nature of hybrid spaces from urban to domestic spaces The role of mobile augmented-reality and mobile videoconferencing for remote work The role of mobile communication in helping low-income and minoritized communities Submitted articles can come from various theoretical and methodological perspectives, as long as they engage with mobile communication scholarship and focus on the future and lessons learned from the pandemic from a mobile media and communication perspective. Important dates: Extended abstracts submission (1,000 words): 30 August, 2021 Full papers submission (8,000 words): 1 March, 2022 Final acceptance: 15 January, 2023 Guidelines: Please submit an extended abstract of no more than 1,000 words (including references) that states the paper’s main argument, contribution, and takeaway. The abstract should clearly explain how the full submission will contribute to the aims of this special issue. Please email extended abstracts to covid19nowandthen(a)gmail.com <mailto:covid19nowandthen@gmail.com> by 30 August 2021. Abstracts should be accompanied by a short biography for each author (approx. 200 words). Also, include the names, titles, and contact information for 2-3 suggested reviewers. Positively reviewed abstracts (notification by 15 October 2021) will be invited to submit full articles by 1 March 2022, through http://mmc.sagepub.com <http://mmc.sagepub.com/>. Invited submissions will undergo a blind peer-review process following the usual procedures of Mobile Media & Communication. The special section will be published in Volume 11, no. 2 of Mobile Media & Communication in May 2023. Please note that manuscripts must conform to the guidelines for Mobile Media & Communication. In case of further questions, please contact the guest editors. References: Castells, M. (2000). The Rise of the Network Society. Blackwell. Crosby, A. W. (2003). America's forgotten pandemic: the influenza of 1918. Cambridge University Press. de Souza e Silva, A., & Xiong-Gum, M. N. (2020). Mobile Networked Creativity: Developing a theoretical framework for understanding creativity as survival. Communication Theory. Ekong, I., Chukwu, E., & Chukwu, M. (2020). COVID-19 Mobile Positioning Data Contact Tracing and Patient Privacy Regulations. JMIR MHealth and UHealth, 8(4), e19139. https://doi.org/10.2196/19139 <https://doi.org/10.2196/19139>

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AI Fictions conference: June 3-5 live sessions + a game + an online exhibition + 30 prerecorded talks
by DULONG DE ROSNAY Mélanie 02 Jun '21

02 Jun '21

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WEBCAST TODAY: Accessibility Testing with People with Disabilities: Tips and tricks from the experts at Fable
by Joly MacFie 01 Jun '21

01 Jun '21

This is just about to start ISOC Live posted: "On Tuesday June 1 2021 at 7pm EDT (23:00 UTC) the Accessibility NYC Meetup (A11yNYC) hosts an online meetup ‘Accessibility Testing with People with Disabilities: Tips and tricks from the experts at Fable‘. Sam Proulx, Accessibility Evangelist at Fable, wi" [image: livestream] <https://livestream.com/internetsociety2/a11ytesting>On *Tuesday June 1 2021* at *7pm EDT* (23:00 UTC) the *Accessibility NYC Meetup <https://www.meetup.com/A11yNYC/>* (A11yNYC) hosts an online meetup ‘*Accessibility Testing with People with Disabilities: Tips and tricks from the experts at Fable <https://www.meetup.com/A11yNYC/events/277880780/>*‘.* Sam Proulx*, Accessibility Evangelist at *Fable <https://makeitfable.com/>*, will talk about why testing with people with disabilities is so important, and describe what Fable is doing in order to make this testing quicker, easier, and more effective. He will also provide tips, tricks, and advice based on his life-long experience as a screen reader customer and testing participant, as well as the expertise Fable has gained from conducting thousands of hours of user testing with assistive technology. The meetup will be webcast live via a partnership with the *Internet Society Accessibility SIG <https://a11ysig.org>*. *LIVESTREAM: https://livestream.com/internetsociety2/a11ytesting <https://livestream.com/internetsociety2/a11ytesting>* (Open Captions) *PARTICIPATE VIA ZOOM: https://www.meetup.com/A11yNYC/events/277880780/ <https://www.meetup.com/A11yNYC/events/277880780/>* *REAL TIME TEXT: http://streamtext.net/player?event=a11ynyc <http://streamtext.net/player?event=a11ynyc>* *TWITTER: #AccessibilityTesting <https://bit.ly/3bYE8AP> @a11ynyc <https://bit.ly/3cPwYhE> @fastfinge @a11ysig #WebAccessibility #a11y* *SIMULCASTS* *https://youtu.be/r1TbnVdKCTE <https://youtu.be/r1TbnVdKCTE>* (chat monitored for Q&A) *https://www.twitter.com/ISOC_Live/ <https://www.twitter.com/ISOC_Live/>* *https://www.twitch.tv/isoclive <https://www.twitch.tv/isoclive>* *https://www.facebook.com/isocny/live <https://www.facebook.com/isocny/live>* *ARCHIVE* *https://archive.org/details/a11ytestin*g <https://archive.org/details/a11ytesting> *Permalink* https://isoc.live/14064/ - -- -------------------------------------- Joly MacFie +12185659365 -------------------------------------- -

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sign on opportunity re ICANN and IP-creep
by Patricia Aufderheide 01 Jun '21

01 Jun '21

Here's an issue that's both important and down in the weeds (welcome to our world). You might be aware that "private voluntary commitments" <https://www.circleid.com/posts/20200311-the-sad-story-of-private-public-int…> by Internet registries introduce content moderation into domain assignments. Many private entities (e.g. large copyright holders) and governments (especially law enforcement) want to use for their own purposes.<https://www.circleid.com/posts/20201123-icann-should-keep-content-regulatio…> In other words, SOPA/PIPA privatized. Michael Karanicolas (UCLA) drafted this letter, and Rebecca Tushnet (Harvard) has been touching it up. It would be good for ICANN to know that outside observers are paying attention. Could you sign it? Sadly, the deadline is 3pm TUESDAY. If you can, please let Kathy Kleiman (NOT ME!!) know. She's cc'd here, and she's at kleiman(a)wcl.american.edu. Just let her know what you want your signature/title/association to say. Thanks, I know this is pretty arcane, but that's how the sausage is made. The letter: To the ICANN Board and ICANN Community: As outside observers of the operations of the Subsequent Procedures PDP Working Group, we write to express our concern at the shape of the final recommendations, and particularly with regard to ICANN’s quiet drift into the politically charged world of content moderation. Specifically, we are concerned that the lack of proper action to address the dangers posed by Registry Voluntary Commitments (RVCs), which represent a significant challenge not only to the integrity of the Final Report, but to ICANN’s mission as a whole. Regulating the content of online speech has long been the third rail of ICANN’s operations, and for good reason. ICANN’s status as the steward of key technical Internet functions depends, in large part, on its ability to chart a neutral course through areas of political controversy, in order to maintain the trust of all of its diverse stakeholders. An essential part of this is that ICANN must interpret its technical mission narrowly, in terms of facilitating universal resolvability, and without regard to the content being communicated. The bounds of permissible speech are a matter for elected governments to address, not for ICANN. The lack of clear definitions around the appropriate scope of Registry Voluntary Commitments poses a danger to this function, insofar as it places ICANN as an enforcer over rules which have the potential to drag the organization into any number of controversial political areas. Around the world, online platforms like Facebook and Twitter are under fire from all sides as a result of their involvement in content questions. Delegating the decision-making to a third-party arbiter would not absolve ICANN over responsibility for the outcomes of these decisions any more than the Facebook Oversight Board has relieved Facebook of the intense scrutiny that follows its decisions. Is this really the future that ICANN wants? While neutrality in the content debates is not a practical option for the platforms, it is absolutely a position which ICANN can adopt. The alternative would be to open ICANN up to a flood of new legislation around the world targeting entities that are responsible for moderating content. Given ICANN’s recent experience with California’s Attorney General examining the sale of Public Interest Registry, it is difficult to see why the organization would voluntarily subject itself to similar scrutiny from global governments over decisions to ban (or not to ban) particular domain names for alleged violations of content moderation commitments that have been incorporated into contracts with ICANN. These moves open up an entirely new attack surface for governments, and threaten to undercut one of the organization’s main claims to universal legitimacy: the idea that it stays out of such controversial debates. By submitting their report without addressing these problems, or examining problematic existing Public Interest Commitments (now called RVCs) and closely evaluating ICANN’s limited scope and authority, the Working Group is essentially endorsing registries’ ability to continue and expand this practice, writing new terms into their contracts with ICANN, and expecting the organization to support their enforcement. This is anathema not only to ICANN’s role in the global Internet, but to the multistakeholder-driven contracting process under which it is meant to operate. It is simply unacceptable for the Working Group to ignore these concerns, or to kick them down the road, to be addressed by an indeterminate process at some indeterminate time. We write to you, the ICANN Board, with the hope that you will carefully consider the implications of this decision on ICANN’s mission and future operations and create proper scope for what you will accept and enforce as future Registry Voluntary Commitments. Yours Sincerely, Michael Karanicolas, Executive Director, UCLA Institute for Technology, Law & Policy Mitch Stoltz, Senior Staff Attorney, Electronic Frontier Foundation Patricia Aufderheide, University Professor, School of Communication, American University, and Fellow, American University Internet Governance Lab Patricia Aufderheide, University Professor, School of Communication (she/they) PhD Program Director Founder, Center for Media & Social Impact American University 4400 Massachusetts Av., NW American University, Washington, DC 20016-8017 McKinley Hall 323 @paufder @cmsimpact cmsimpact.org<http://cmsimpact.org> paufder(a)american.edu<mailto:paufder@american.edu> 202-885-2069 office 240-643-4805 mobile Zoom Office Hours: https://american.zoom.us/j/96788556467?pwd=eFNpa2JMWlZQRm5pT1Z0b3RVUlRXQT09 Reclaiming Fair Use--t<https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/022637419X?pf_rd_p=d1f45e03-8b73-4c9a-9be…>he second edition is out, with new stories, quizzes and entirely new chapters on the surprising success of fair use in enabling creativity! Patricia Aufderheide, University Professor, School of Communication (she/they) PhD Program Director Founder, Center for Media & Social Impact American University 4400 Massachusetts Av., NW American University, Washington, DC 20016-8017 McKinley Hall 323 @paufder @cmsimpact cmsimpact.org<http://cmsimpact.org> paufder(a)american.edu<mailto:paufder@american.edu> 202-885-2069 office 240-643-4805 mobile Zoom Office Hours: https://american.zoom.us/j/96788556467?pwd=eFNpa2JMWlZQRm5pT1Z0b3RVUlRXQT09 Reclaiming Fair Use--t<https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/022637419X?pf_rd_p=d1f45e03-8b73-4c9a-9be…>he second edition is out, with new stories, quizzes and entirely new chapters on the surprising success of fair use in enabling creativity!

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Fully funded PhD positions in Digital Sociology and Politics
by Simon Lindgren 01 Jun '21

01 Jun '21

## Call for PhD Proposals DIGSUM is an interdisciplinary academic research centre for the study of the relationship between digital technology and society at Umeå University, Sweden. >> https://www.digsum.org/about Our Digital Sociology group is looking for new PhD candidates >> https://www.umu.se/en/department-of-sociology/research/research-areas/digit… The open positions are fully funded and salaried for four years. The deadline for applications is 28 June 2021. The positions: 1. PhD position in Digital Sociology focusing on internet, social media, politics and civil society 2. PhD position in Digital Sociology focusing on political discourses around AI and automation Read more and apply >> https://www.digsum.org/digsum-feed/phd-positions-in-digital-sociology <https://www.digsum.org/digsum-feed/phd-positions-in-digital-sociology> We look forward to your applications! Don’t hesitate to contact me with any questions. Best wishes, Simon simon.lindgren(a)umu.se <mailto:simon.lindgren@umu.se> --- Simon Lindgren – Professor of Sociology Director of DIGSUM – Centre for Digital Social Research Umeå University digsum.org simonlindgren.com

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2 post-doc positions at King’s College London, to study the Digital Silk Road - deadline 14 June 21
by Oreglia, Elisa 31 May '21

31 May '21

*2 Post-doc positions at King’s College London* The ERC-funded project DIGISILK: Digital Infrastructures along the New Silk Road is looking for two post-doctoral researchers with a background in empirical social science and knowledge of the Chinese and/or Kazakh/Central Asian tech sector to join a team studying the Chinese initiative Digital Silk Road (DSR) in China, Kazakhstan, Cambodia and Myanmar. Post-doc, China (3 years): https://jobs.kcl.ac.uk/gb/en/job/023826/Research-Associate-in-the-Departmen… Post-doc, Kazakhstan (2 years): https://jobs.kcl.ac.uk/gb/en/job/023845/Research-Associate-in-the-Departmen… *Deadline: 14 June 2021* *Description* The researchers will focus on China and on Kazakhstan/Central Asia respectively. The China-focused researcher will analyze formal and informal trade links between China and the three countries, and the expansion of the Chinese internet (infrastructure, platforms and services) outside China. The Kazakhstan-focused researcher will analyze trade links between Kazakhstan and China, and the expansion of the Chinese internet (infrastructure, platforms and services) in Kazakhstan and possibly Central Asia. The ideal candidates will have experience in researching the digital sector in their country of focus, an existing network of contacts in the tech field, be fluent in the countries’ languages, and be open to collaborative and mixed methods research. Both positions are based in the Department of Digital Humanities at King’s College London, with extended periods of fieldwork in China or Kazakhstan. **** Dr. Elisa Oreglia Senior Lecturer in Global Digital Cultures Department of Digital Humanities | King’s College London

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CFP: Sex/gender and Religion Online
by Ruth Tsuria 31 May '21

31 May '21

Dear colleagues - please consider submitting your papers to the following special issue: https://www.mdpi.com/journal/religions/special_issues/digitalmedia_sex_reli… The CFP: With the growing interest in Digital Religion due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it is important to promote the intersection of digital media, religion, and sexuality. Relevant questions include "How might the use of new media technology impact religious sexual norms?" and "How do religious users relate to sexuality online?", among others. The purpose of this Special Issue is to provide a scholarly space for studies that focus on this intersection. This can include, but is not limited to, research on: * Religious online discussions of sexuality; * Religious LGBTQIA+ individuals' use of digital media; * Religious online dating; * Religion and online pornography; * Online sexualization of religious traditions; * Digital media, religion, sexuality, and intersectionality. While some existing scholarship on digital religion and sexuality does exist (see, for example, Mia Lövheim's Media, Religion and Gender: Key Issues and New Challenges), this area is largely understudied. Submissions are encouraged which consider previous Digital Religion scholarship. However, because of the novelty of this area, submissions from a variety of disciplines are encouraged. Thank you! Ruth Ruth Tsuria, Ph.D. https://works.bepress.com/ruth-tsuria/ Assistant Professor, College of Communication and the Arts

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PostDoc Position with focus on Recommender Systems at MediaFutures @ University of Bergen, Norway (Deadline: 5th July 2021)
by Christoph Trattner 31 May '21

31 May '21

** Please share ** Postdoctoral Research Fellow position in Recommender Systems at MediaFutures: Research Center for Responsible Media Technology & Innovation @ University of Bergen, Norway *Apply here:* https://www.jobbnorge.no/en/available-jobs/job/207078/postdoctoral-research… *Application deadline:* 5th July 2021 *Position description:* There is a vacancy for a postdoctoral research fellow position at MediaFutures within Recommender Systems in WP2 - User Modelling, Personalization & Engagement. The position is for a period of 3 years. We are looking for an ambitious and self-motivated colleague to join us in MediaFutures: Research Center for Responsible Media Technology & Innovation. MediaFutures is a new center for research-based innovation at the Department for information science and media studies, University of Bergen, and will be located at Media City Bergen. The center is a part of the Norwegian Research Council’s Research-based Innovation scheme. MediaFutures will in cooperation with industry partners from news media and media technology research topics like media experiences, recommender technology, content production and analysis, content interaction and availability, and Norwegian language technology. The goal is to develop responsible technological solutions to societal challenges like AI, fake news, echo chambers and political polarization. The results will be new digital tools, analytical methods, and content types for the future of media. The center will also perform research training within media technology and innovation. This will create outputs such as new patents, prototypes, research articles and software, as well and innovative start-up companies. Read more about the center at www.mediafutures.no. -- ------------------------------------------------------ Full Prof. Dr. DI Christoph Trattner BSc Director - SFI MediaFutures: Research Centre for Responsible Media Technology & Innovation University of Bergen Department of Information Science and Media Studies Fosswinckelsgt. 6, 5007 Bergen, Norway E-mail: christoph.trattner(a)uib.no Tel: +47 453 96 180 Homepage: https://christophtrattner.com Research Group: https://dars.uib.no ------------------------------------------------------

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SIMULCAST: AfNOG Day 2021
by Joly MacFie 31 May '21

31 May '21

I will segment this into sessions when done. Vint is up next. ISOC Live posted: "On Monday May 31 2021, at 09:00 UTC, the Africa Network Operators Group (AfNOG) will hold AfNOG Day 2021 as part of the Africa Internet Summit 2021 SPEAKERS Nancy Dotse, Secretariat, AfNOG Dr. Nii Narku Quaynor, Convenor, AfNOG Dr. Dawit Bekele, Regional" [image: livestream] <http://livestream.com/internetsociety/afnog21>On* Monday May 31 2021*, at *09:00 UTC*, the *Africa Network Operators Group <https://www.afnog.org/>* (AfNOG) will hold *AfNOG Day 2021 <https://afnog.org/afnog2021/afnogday.php>* as part of the *Africa Internet Summit 2021 <https://2021.internetsummit.africa/>* *SPEAKERS* *Nancy Dotse*, Secretariat, AfNOG *Dr. Nii Narku Quaynor*, Convenor, AfNOG *Dr. Dawit Bekele*, Regional Vice President - Africa, Internet Society *Dr. Philip Smith*, Senior Network Engineer, Network Startup Resource Center (NSRC) *Israel Bionyi Nyoh*, Communications and Outreach Manager, Internet Society *Jody van Wyk*, Head, Telecom Infra Project Africa *Subramanian Moonesamy*, Chairman, Board of Directors, AFRINIC *Noah Maina*, AfNOG *Logan Velvindron*, Infrastructure Security Engineer, AFRINIC *Prof. Shin'ichiro Matsuo*, Research Professor, Georgetown University *Vint Cerf*, Chief Internet evangelist, Google *Alain Aina*, Prof. Shin'ichiro Matsuo *LIVESTREAM http://livestream.com/internetsociety/afnog21 <http://livestream.com/internetsociety/afnog21>* *AGENDA https://2021.internetsummit.africa/programme <https://2021.internetsummit.africa/programme>* *TWITTER #afnog2021 <https://bit.ly/3fYEOY5> #AIS21 @AfNOGWorkshops @AIS_Africa* *SIMULCASTS* *https://youtu.be/cy6CtSDQ2OU* <https://youtu.be/cy6CtSDQ2OU> (EN) *https://youtu.be/29nsIzPJ1BY <https://youtu.be/29nsIzPJ1BY> *(FR) *https://www.twitter.com/ISOC_Live/ <https://www.twitter.com/ISOC_Live/>* *https://www.twitch.tv/isoclive <https://www.twitch.tv/isoclive>* *https://www.facebook.com/ISOCAfrica/live <https://www.facebook.com/ISOCAfrica/live>* *ARCHIVE* *https://archive.org/details/afnog21 <https://archive.org/details/afnog21>* *Permalink* https://isoc.live/14076/ - -- -------------------------------------- Joly MacFie +12185659365 -------------------------------------- -

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Call for Papers: “Beyond Californian Ideology? Tech Communities and Alternative Imaginaries of Deep Mediatization”
by ZeMKI 31 May '21

31 May '21

CALL FOR PAPERS “Beyond Californian Ideology? Tech Communities and Alternative Imaginaries of Deep Mediatization” Call for Papers for a Thematic Issue in the International Journal of Communication Guest-edited by: Prof Dr Andreas Hepp, University of Bremen, ZeMKI (ahepp(a)uni-bremen.de) Prof Nathan Schneider, University of Colorado Boulder (nathan.schneider(a)colorado.edu) MA Anne Schmitz, University of Bremen, ZeMKI (a.schmitz(a)uni-bremen.de) Overview In their 1996 publication of the same name, Richard Barbrook and Andy Cameron characterized what they called the “Californian ideology” as a combination of “the free-wheeling spirit of the hippies and the entrepreneurial zeal of the yuppies” (Barbrook & Cameron 1996: 44). At its core, this Californian ideology is defined by the notion of a society characterized simultaneously by libertarian markets, alternative ideas of community and individual freedom—shaped by technology more than other social forces. Such notions were driven by networks such as those that emerged around the Whole Earth Catalog, and later, Wired magazine (Turner 2006), which communicated these ideas far beyond the American West Coast. Many of today’s platforms and digital infrastructures, which drive the current “deep mediatization” (Hepp 2020) of society, were created in the spirit of such an ideology, supported by ideas of “global scalability” of once found "technical solutions”. At the same time, there were groups early on that seem to be opposed to such ideas. Examples of this are the Hacker, Open Source, or Civic Hacking movements, which are interested in critically questioning tendencies of commercialization. Such groups exert their influence by developing alternative “sociotechnical imaginaries” (Jasanoff & Sang-Hyun 2015) about possible futures – thus creating a space of possibility. However, if one also looks at emerging communities today such as the Maker, Quantified Self, or Biohacking movements, it becomes evident that many “alternative” imaginaries are closely interwoven with the Californian ideology. On closer inspection, the boundaries do not appear to be so easily drawn; there are manifold connections, fractures, affinities, and differences in the various communities. Against this background, the aim of this special issue is to look at different technology-oriented communities and to ask what “alternative imaginaries” of a deeply mediatized society they develop as well as what their possible impact on future developments might be. Submissions should address questions like these: What imaginaries of possible futures are tech communities developing? In which areas are they experimenting and which future developments are they opening up? Where is a Californian ideology reproduced in the practices and discourses of these communities? How does the departure to other models and concepts of technological development succeed? Formatting and Requirements To be considered for this collection, a paper should range between 6,000 and 8,900 words (all-inclusive, which includes the abstract, keywords, images with captions, footnotes, references, and appendices, if any) must be submitted by October 31, 2021 to the editors and adhere to the following formal requirements: Formatting according to the most recent version of the APA style-guide (including in-text citations and references). Any endnotes should be converted to footnotes. Papers must include the author(s) name(s), title, affiliation and email-address. (Your paper will subsequently be anonymized for double-blind peer review.) All articles should include an abstract of 150 words. All spelling must be rendered in American English. To change British or Commonwealth spellings to their American equivalents, please see the Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary. See “Author Guidelines/Submission Preparation Checklist” at https://ijoc.org/index.php/ijoc/about/submissions#authorGuidelines Any papers that do not follow these guidelines will not be submitted for peer review. The International Journal of Communication is an open access journal (ijoc.org) All articles will be available online at the point of publication. The anticipated publication timeframe for this Special Issue is October 2022. Contact Information All submissions should be uploaded to https://cloud.medlab.host/s/pt43t39ZrHtXcnD <https://cloud.medlab.host/s/pt43t39ZrHtXcnD> by October 31, 2021. Late submissions will not be included for consideration.

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