Hello AOIR friends! I’m sorry that I won’t get to see y’all in Mexico City this year, but I will be on a book tour. Many of you have heard me talk about the census for years. I did an in-depth ethnography of the US Census Bureau and lived to tell the tale. “Data Are Made, Not Found: A Story of Politics, Power, and the Civil Servants Who Saved the US Census” <https://www.danah.org/data-are-made-not-found/> tells the story of what it took for the Census Bureau to make its namesake data in 2020, amidst a pandemic, natural disasters, and political pressure. In the book, I argue that we’re living through “Jenga politics” where systems are getting torn down one plank at a time, as more pressure is being put on top. And I argue that the legitimacy of data isn’t rooted in some mythical notion of data quality, but the social fabric that surrounds a project like this. There is one very internet-specific chapter, focused on what it took for the Census Bureau to build its internet self-response system. (Oh the fun with modernization in a very constrained environment.) Anyhow, it might not be squarely an internet studies book, but I think that many of you will appreciate it nonetheless. Cuz it’s a story of democracy’s data. The book will be available in French and English (hardcover), audiobook, and ebook. I would be ever-so-grateful if you wouldn’t mind pre-ordering a book <https://www.danah.org/data-are-made-not-found/> to support me. Or to reserve a copy at your library. All of this helps a LOT. Like a lot a lot. I’m also doing a CRAZY book tour this fall. The first event will be virtual and publicly accessible: - Zoom Only! *Data & Society. *September 23, 1PM. Register here <https://datasociety.net/news-events/protecting-democracys-data/>. w/ Dan Bouk (historian) and Janet Haven (ED of D&S) But there’s also DC, Chapel Hill, Durham, Boston/Cambridge, Toronto, Seattle, DC again, Charlottesville, Berkeley, Mountain View, Chicago/Evanston, Ann Arbor, Boulder, NYC, New Brunswick. And more are being added. Check them out here: https://www.danah.org/data-are-made-not-found/ Thank you for all of your community support over these years. And thanks to those who are willing to support me in this launch - I really really appreciate it! danah ---- *NEW BOOK! *“Data Are Made, Not Found” <https://www.danah.org/data-are-made-not-found/> (Sept 24) tells the story of the US census, Jenga politics, and the civil servants who work to protect democracy’s data. *Please **pre-order it* <https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/D/bo277581183.html> - and join me at an upcoming event! <https://www.danah.org/data-are-made-not-found/>