Dear Nicholas, thanks for this suggestion. As a person critical to the digital enclosure of Facebook etc. I would suggest if there should be something like that at all to set up a structure not based on a system such as Facebook but being open without contributing to data mining etc. Best regards Nadia Kutscher ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Prof. Dr. Nadia Kutscher Catholic University of Applied Sciences NRW Department Cologne Woerthstr. 10 D-50668 Koeln Germany Phone: +49-(0)221 7757 186 Fax: +49-(0)221 7757 180 E-Mail: n.kutscher@katho-nrw.de Please note: From September 1st 2013 I am starting a new professorship at University of Vechta. New e-mail address: nadia.kutscher@uni-vechta.de ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Nicholas Bowman <Nicholas.Bowman@mail.wvu.edu> hat geschrieben: AoIR pals! As a new member to the organization, I had wondered perhaps if this e-mail listserv really is the best space for many of the transactional-type discussions that happen between members. On the one hand, it's very cool (and inspiring) to see such a vibrant discussion between motivated and intelligent people, but on the other hand there are days in which I will receive as many as 20 different AoIR e-mails - often a chronology of a conversation between a few members that I might or might not be specifically involved in (besides my tangential connection to both as an AoIR member). To this end, I wonder if the organization has (or might) consider using a different channel for these transactional-type discussions, such as a closed Facebook page, that provides members an "opt-in" and persistent space for more detailed discussions. As the Web and Publications Editor for the Mass Communication of NCA (National Communication Association), I have facilitated such a page for our 1200+ members for the better half of three years, and we've seen quite a few members (about 500 currently "following" the page) log in and share research and scholarly opinions in the space - which has taken quite a bit of pressure off of our listserv. I realize of course there are likely many reasons why we don't have such a space, but I'm just wondering if using the current AoIR listserv as a bulletin board and discussion place is the most functional use of the technology; as a new member, it can often times be overwhelming. Of course, should there be any interest in such a project - using Facebook, or some other technology that is more easily assessible/less likely to see us all anti-aging cream on a daily basis - I'd be more than happy to assist. Or, I'll just continue to acclimate to the AoIR listserv, as I go find it generally useful. Just a few thoughts from a new member - I do not mean to shake the apple tree so please to not take this note as anything more than an "outside looking in" observation. Glad to be a member, and eager for my first AoIR this Fall in Denver. =) ~nick Nicholas David Bowman, Ph.D. ( http://ndbowman.info/ )Assistant Professor of Communication Studies; Research Associate, Media and Interaction Lab West Virginia University Web and Publications Editor, Mass Communication Division National Communication Association Vice-Chair, Game Studies Interest Group International Communication Association Interim Social Media Director Eastern Communication Association ______________________ Twitter @bowmanspartan Skype ID: nicholasdbowman On Media Theory... ( http://onmediatheory.blogspot.com/ ) _______________________________________________ The Air-L@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/