The Social Media Collective once again has a bounty of bright and talented interns joining us for 2022. Some have already joined us; most will be working with us over the summer months. Here they are! Benjamin Ale-Ebrahim (he/him) is a fifth year Ph.D. candidate in Anthropology at Indiana University. At MSR, he will be …
Author: Social Media Collective
Call for Papers: JCMC Special Issue on Technology and the Future of Work!
Nancy Baym and SMC alum Ifeoma Ajunwa are guest editing a special issue of the Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication! They welcome submissions from the extended SMC network. See the call for papers below: JCMC Special Issue: Technology and the Future of Work Guest Editors:Nancy Baym, Microsoft Research Ifeoma Ajunwa, University of North Carolina Nicole Ellison, …
Continue reading Call for Papers: JCMC Special Issue on Technology and the Future of Work!
new essay by Elizabeth Fetterolf: “It’s Crowded at the Bottom: Trust, Visibility, and Search Algorithms on Care.com”
We're excited to share a new publication from Elizabeth Fetterolf, on how care workers perform their trustworthiness, and how platform algorithms grant them different kinds of visibility. Elizabeth is currently the research assistant for the Social Media Collective, having recently completed their M.Sc. in Sociology at the University of Oxford. "It's Crowded at the Bottom: …
Internship opportunity: Social Media Collective (MSR New England)
APPLICATION DEADLINE: JANUARY 11, 2022 APPLICATION LINK: https://careers.microsoft.com/us/en/job/1187754/Research-Intern-Social-Media-Collective Microsoft Research New England, part of the global network of Microsoft Research Labs, is looking for advanced PhD students to join the Social Media Collective (SMC) for its 12-week internship program. The Social Media Collective brings together empirical and critical perspectives to understand the political and cultural dynamics …
Continue reading Internship opportunity: Social Media Collective (MSR New England)

Internship opportunity: Sociotechnical Infrastructures (MSR New York City)
APPLICATION DEADLINE: JANUARY 11, 2022 APPLICATION LINK: https://careers.microsoft.com/us/en/job/1187968/Research-Intern-Sociotechnical-Infrastructures Microsoft Research NYC is looking for an advanced PhD student to conduct an original research project on a topic under the rubric of “sociotechnical infrastructures.” MSR internships provide PhD students with an opportunity to work on an independent research project that advances their intellectual development while collaborating …
Continue reading Internship opportunity: Sociotechnical Infrastructures (MSR New York City)
SMC goes to AoIR: talks to look out for
This year at the Association of Internet Researchers (AoIR) 22nd annual meeting, current SMC members and alumnae have some fantastic papers around the 2021 theme: independence. Everything is virtual this year, which means you have until December 15th to watch these incredible talks online! Registration is free for AoIR members – you can register here to be able to view the videos. And this …
SMC goes to 4S: a list of panels to look out for
Given the overwhelming SMC presence at the 2021 Society for Social Studies of Science (4S) annual meeting, we thought we’d assemble a list of panels chaired by, organized by, and featuring SMC members and alums. Tune in on October 6th - 9th to hear a wide range of presentations on topics such as dead and dying platforms, “caring” for data, the sexual politics of the polygraph, “Green …
Continue reading SMC goes to 4S: a list of panels to look out for
SMC alumnae – the comprehensive book list
Inspired by a burst of new, exciting books from some of our past postdocs and interns, we thought we’d pull all the books from our SMC alums together in one place. What a list! The books presented here cover a wide range of topics and represent the SMC’s deep interest in the sociocultural histories, meanings, and implications of technology. Authors explore the consequences of algorithmic police surveillance, map …
new publication from Niall Docherty on “digital self-control”
SMC postdoc Niall Docherty has a new publication in the International Journal of Communication, 'Digital Self-Control and the Neoliberalization of Social Media Well-Being'. Check it out! Abstract: Popular debates surrounding social media well-being target individual habit as the locus of critique and change. This article argues that this constitutes a commitment to responsibilized constructs of …
Continue reading new publication from Niall Docherty on “digital self-control”

2021 Arrivals to the SMC!
UPDATE: One more to add! Muira McCammon is a PhD candidate at the University of Pennsylvania’s Annenberg School for Communication and holds a Master in Law from Penn Law. She studies how information flows through the U.S. administrative state, and her dissertation examines government deletion practices on Twitter. She has published on this work in …